


See You On The Outside

by Usagi



Category: Big Bang (Band), Block B
Genre: Abuse, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pre-Slash, Shippy Gen, Token, locked-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5001247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Usagi/pseuds/Usagi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jiho and Jiyong are kidnapped by a group of men before a show and get locked away together. While they're trying to support each other they get pushed to their physical and mental borders.<br/>-----------<br/>Jiho paced the room, but there was nothing – nothing but a few dead spiders. Concrete walls, concrete floor and ceiling and a flickering lamp.<br/>The door was as solid as the other ones. He pressed his ear to it and tried to hear anything.<br/>Silence.<br/>Only his own breath.<br/>It was unnerving.<br/>-------<br/>Jiyong heart stopped for a second and he froze on the spot. Then, as he heard them starting to run around the premises, he lifted the barrow with newly found strength and covered between it and the wall.<br/>Maybe they wouldn't search for him at all. Maybe they'd just leave. Maybe the police would arrive soon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. GD

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction will also be posted on asianfanfics.
> 
> Jiyong's POV

Jiyong watched the room spin on his mobile's screen. He wondered when they could go on stage. He stopped spinning in his chair for a second. Maybe he should go over to Taeyang's room, pay him a visit?  
He spun a second time. His mobile's camera had an interesting motion blur.  
Boring.  
There was a distant crash somewhere in the building.  
Jiyong tried to remember the other groups that were to perform this evening. If he remembered right, 2NE1 was on stage right now...  
A third spin.  
He couldn't even watch them as Big Bang were next and he had to stay ready. In his small preparation room.  
"Boring boring boooring.", he sung when suddenly the lights went out.  
He stopped, furrowing his brows and glancing towards the ceiling.  
“A blackout?” Jiyong got up. Maybe it was only his room? No, he couldn't see any light in the hallway shining through the slit under the door. The only remaining light-source was the emergency-exit lamp, casting an eerie glow into the room.  
He would go over to Taeyang, see if his room was also-  
He was halfway through the room when the door burst open and Jiyong found himself eye to eye with a masked man pointing a big gun at him.The gun-wielding silhouette looked threatening in the dim light.  
"Hands up!", the man shouted and Jiyong immediately obeyed, completely caught off guard.  
“Drop your phone.” Jiyong hesitated. Utter disbelief made him stare at the man and wonder if this was the worst joke ever or indeed some kind of terrorist-act. His circling thoughts came to an end when the man loaded the gun and Jiyong broke into cold sweat.  
“I told you to drop it.”  
Reluctantly, he opened his hand and felt sorry for the phone when it dropped to the floor. He was aware that without it, he wouldn't be able to call for help anymore.  
This had to be a bad dream. If he was shot now, there would be so many things he didn't manage to do in his life. So many people he would've liked to say goodbye to before leaving this world. A part of him was sure he would wake up any second.  
"Get your ass over here!", the man ordered and slowly, Jiyong stepped towards him.  
The man stabbed the barrel into Jiyong's back and pushed him out of the room, down the hall, only the green emergeny-exit signs lighting their way. There was a ghostly silence around and nobody he could call for help, Taeyang's room was the next one – behind the corner, the opposite direction of where they were heading. As if he had read his mind, the man hissed "Scream and you'll be dead in an instant!"  
Jiyong daren't make any sound but prayed for someone – anyone – to just happen to come into this part of the building.  
The man ordered him to "speed the fuck up". Jiyong wondered whether the blackout really was a coincidence.  
Where were his band members, the other idols, the whole bunch of people running this building and the show? He remembered that Big Bang's dressing rooms had been changed shortly before their arrival. Earlier, their rooms had been located closer to the stage, the ones they had been assigned in the end laid in the outer areas of the building. It was probably really due to some organization-issue, but with his heart racing in his chest, Jiyong found it hard to believe in things to happen randomly.  
When the man pressed him into a jog he stumbled forward.  
A minute later, they left through an emergency exit that clearly had been broken open. The cool evening air outside was not the main reason why chills were running down Jiyong's spine. A transporter of a furniture company was waiting behind the building in the fading light and they headed towards it. So this really was a kidnapping...  
Noises from the right announced a group of people approaching, but Jiyong should've known better than turning his head - it got him a painful sting with the barrel. He had seen enough, though: Three more kidnappers running towards the transporter, one with a gun, the other two dragging along another hostage who was barely able to walk.  
His heart cringed with worry.  
He was violently pushed into the truck and stumbled ahead in the darkness before catching his step. He quickly turned around to see what happened next. The other person was thrown at him. Jiyong tried to catch them by reflex but his attempt only resulted in both of them crashing to the ground, the other's weight pressing the air out of his lungs.  
Jiyong gasped for air and managed to crawl out under the body and take a look at his companion before the kidnappers closed and locked the doors. Lying in Jiyong's lap, staring expressionless towards the ceiling was Zico, Block B's leader.  
Then complete darkness fell upon Jiyong and his comrade in suffering. 

 

Carefully, Jiyong ran his fingers over Jiho's head and forehead. He felt moisture right over the left ear.  
"Poor you, they struck you, didn't they?"  
Jiyong whispered and felt for the younger rapper's pulse.  
"...spinnin' round...“, Jiho slurred.  
The transporter came to life with a roaring sound and they started to drive off with considerable speed.  
Jiho moaned. "God, turn off that noise!“  
Jiyong hoped Jiho would recover by himself, he wouldn't be able to do much for him if he didn't. But at least, the other was breathing softly and his pulse seemed ok. Not that Jiyong had much skill in medical examinations but that seemed reassuring enough. He put off his jacket and carefully layed it under Jiho's head before getting up. He had to cling to the wall to not loose his balance.  
If he was right, he had caught a glimpse on a few wooden boxes when they had thrown him inside the truck. Automatically he reached for his phone, then remembered he didn't have it anymore. He cursed under his breath. Searching for Jiho's phone probably wasn't any good either, but Jiyong crawled back to him anyway, just to make sure.  
He sighed when all he could find in Jiho's vast pockets was a small lighter, almost empty. Of course - if they had had to knock Jiho out, they had probably searched him right away.  
"What're doin'?“ Block B's leader tried to cover his ears and moaned faintly when the truck suddenly turned sharply to the left. He didn't manage to lift his arms towards his head, though.  
"Ssshhh, it's alright. You probably have a concussion. I was just looking for your phone." Jiyong gently touched his shoulder. No answer, just another moan.  
With the lighter in his pocket, Jiyong made his way back through the darkness towards the boxes, then lit a flame.  
The swaying warm radius of light fell onto the boxes which were disappointingly small.  
Jiyong opened them anyway. They contained aromatic candles.  
"We'll have some light at least!" Jiyong said over his shoulder, trying to sound cheerful, to cover his own fear.  
He lit a candle, squinting his eyes when he looked into the flame. He waited until the wax started to drop, then he placed a few droplets on the truck's floor and fixed some candles in them before lighting them. At least now you could see your own hands in front of your eyes in the shipping space. Just when Jiyong finished with the last small candle, Jiho started moving.


	2. Zico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zico's POV

The ground was shaking, Jiho's head aching and all he could hear besides the terrible nauseating noise all around him was this familiar voice saying "Careful, don't burn yourself!"   
Someone was pushing his fumbling hands away from a source of warmth. He glimpsed into some flashing lights and turned away immediately.  
He was surrounded by candles in a dimly lit, confined space and he felt so nauseous, he struggled not to puke.  
The first thought that struck him was whether he was to be sacrificed in some crazy ritual.   
Then he saw the face of his companion, looking at him in worry.   
G-Dragon.   
An artist he looked up to so much.   
What were they actually doing here?   
"Are you alright... Jiho?", G-Dragon asked. Jiho heard the older hesitate for a short moment when he called him by his first name.  
"Hyung, where are-" Speaking made him feel so dizzy that he immediately shut up, happy for some kind of pillow under his head. The smell of the candles didn't make him feel better. He pressed the hands to his forehead. He tried to calm down the sickening pain in his head by breathing through his mouth.  
"Please don't throw up now, Jiho." G-Dragon begged next to him. "It's a very bad time and place for it! Try to breathe and don't move too much."   
Jiho obeyed, the world still shaking behind his closed eyelids. Breathing through his mouth helped indeed, the nausea got better, the headache not. It was almost impossible to focus his thoughts on anything useful at the moment.  
They stayed silent while Jiho tried to recover and the truck was driving on.   
"They hit your head", G-Dragon finally explained in a low voice. "I don't know where they're taking us. Or why. Just hope for the best."   
Jiho opened one eye to glimpse at GD. The usually cheerful expression was now filled with worry and sadness. Jiho turned his gaze towards the dark ceiling of the truck. If he had not felt that awful himself, he would've felt a lot more sympathy with the other.  
"Can't remember much.", he mumbled. "We were supposed to perform on that show... like BigBang.“ He took a deep breath – speaking was such a pain. "Was getting ready in my room when... These guys came in. Don't remember much more..."   
"Did they also threaten you with a gun?" G-Dragon asked.  
A gun? Jiho moaned. "No. But god, what are these people?“   
The noise of the truck was pounding in his head. He wished it would just stop. But if he had to get up now, he would throw up immediately.   
"'ey had a gun when they took you? What do 'ey want? Where are our...?“  
"Sadly, no idea." Jiyong sighed. "The were kinda of sneaky, everything was quiet when they took me. No idea what happened."


	3. GD

When the truck came to a sudden halt, Jiyong blew out the candles. Their smell had become a stench filling up the whole shipping space. He wondered whether the kidnappers would be mad.  
When the men opened the doors again, he took a deep breath of fresh air while blinking into the light of a glaring torch. Jiyong could see all four of them, still masked, one of them armed. They ushered him and Jiho to get out of the truck and didn't seem to care about the candles scattered on the floor.  
Jiho moved surprisingly swift towards the opening. Jiyong followed slowly and flinched when he heard Jiho retching and throwing up over the brink. He felt deeply sorry for Jiho and padded his shoulder. Hopefully, he would get better, soon. This was not a situation you could just be ill in.  
He froze when he felt a gun put to his head.  
“Don't touch him.”, a familiar voice snarled and Jiyong knew it was the same guy who had abducted him from his room.  
Fear took over when the men dragged the retching Jiho out first.  
"Dammit, you're a disgusting piece of shit!“, another man grunted and Jiyong felt anxious they would shoot Jiho right on the spot for annoying them.  
He hurried to get out of the truck, too.  
While Jiho was breathing heavily and tried to regain his composure, Jiyong tried to take a look at the location.  
The surroundings looked like an old factory, as he could see several buildings, completely black against the sky, and a few chimneys.  
But before he could really get an impression of the plant, one of the men blindfolded him from behind. He was pushed and started walking, directed by his guide.  
He could tell by the occasional gasping that Jiho was still behind him. The younger seemed to struggle with walking. Of course they didn't bother to help him, but why wouldn't they at least allow Jiyong to support Jiho? He was hurt, after all, and Jiyong, being the older one, felt it was his duty to care for Jiho. But he didn't dare to slow down or say anything, because the comments of the kidnappers clearly taught him their annoyance about Jiho being sick and not being able to walk properly.  
They walked for about five minutes, taking several turns before they descended some steps. At least Jiyong was allowed to use the handrail.  
The air smelled moist and rusty. There was a grinding sound of some door being opened, then Jiyong was pushed into a room, followed by Jiho, who came to a halt next to him. They had to cross the room, were thrown into another and then finally the blindfold was removed.  
The small cellar was dimly lit. Two doors led outside, one was shut, the other one was the one they had just passed through. There were only two men left, one holding the blindfolds, the other one waving the gun.  
Jiyong glimpsed at Jiho who was pale and looked very exhausted.  
"Take care that moron gets better!“, the man holding the gun ordered. "Don't get your hopes up, we will separate you later.“  
Then they left and locked the door.  
Jiho immediately sank to the ground.  
"Sorry, Kwon-Hyung. But I'm so dizzy.“  
"It's alright, just lay down.“ Jiyong realized he had left his jacket in that truck. He sighed.  
"Anything I can do for you, Jiho?“  
Jiho just waved warily, so Jiyong decided to inspect their room.  
It was a dusty room of maybe twenty square-metres. A bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling was emitting some light, just enough to clearly see the thick an dirty cobwebs that covered the dull metal pipes in the corners of the room. It was empty apart from a small, broken sink in the corner next to the second door, opposite the one they had just entered through.  
Jiyong tried to open the tap. To his surprise, after a few spits, water flowed out of it. At first it had a rusty colour, but after a few moments it came out clear.  
Carefully, Jiyong tried. It tasted okay.  
"I think we have potable tap water.“, he said.  
"Great. I'll wash my mouth later...“, Jiho sighed. "Everthin's still spinnin'. Sorry I'm not much of a use right now, Kwon-Hyung.“  
"It's okay.” Jiyong replied. “And don't call me 'Hyung'.“ He moved towards the second door in the room. "I think we've got other stuff to worry about than formalities. Call me Jiyong.“  
Surprisingly, the second door was unlocked. It swung open with a screeching sound that made Jiho cringe and moan on the floor.  
The second room was covered in white tiles, partially damaged.  
"It's uhm...“ Jiyong started and felt the wall for a light switch. He was successful, the light in the second room wasn't strong either, though.  
"A shower... And a toilet over there... Maybe for the workers when this building was still used...“ He felt Jiho's gaze on his back when he made sure the door would not swing shut by itself and carefully moved into the bathroom.  
It was as big as the room Jiho was lying in, but the emptiness, the white tiles, the narrow ceiling, the way his steps echoed back from the walls... it was outright creepy. Jiyong found two other doors leading from the bathroom, but they were locked.  
Mistrustfully, he tried the showers, they were working. At first the water came out rusty, just like with the tap. The brown colour and the stench of metal made Jiyong back away a few steps. It looked like blood and sent chills down his spine. As soon as the water came out clear, he carefully touched it. Cold, but not freezing.  
He turned out the shower and quickly returned to Jiho, switching off the light and firmly shutting the bathroom-door behind him.  
"So we can shower, can't we?“, Jiho asked wearily.  
Jiyong just nodded and sat next to him.  
"How are you feeling?“  
Jiho closed his eyes for a moment. "Still dizzy and got a headache. But it's bearable if I don't move.“  
Jiyong smiled a bit. "Good. I need you to be better. I don't want to be all alone against them.“  
Jiho smiled weakly. "I'll give my best to get well soon, Hyu- Jiyong.“  
They sat in silence for a moment. Jiyong tried to focus on his breath and not get overwhelmed by despair. No windows. No phones. No one knew where they were. Jiho had a concussion. Maybe these guys where just crazy and would kill them sooner or later?  
Jiyong pressed his hands to his nose bridge.  
_Don't cry now. It won't help you or Jiho. Don't cry, don't..._  
"Why do you think they took us?“, Jiho whispered and brought Jiyong back into reality. "Why only us two?“  
Jiyong looked at him. "Probably they want ransom. At least I hope so. I mean, there are enough bad horror movies out there were the killer just takes their victims-“  
Jiho made an unbelieving gesture.  
"Naa, come on, you're G-Dragon. They won't kill you. You're too... famous. Too valuable.“  
Jiho sounded so reassuringly, that his words managed to calm Jiyong down for the moment.  
"Maybe you're right.“  
"I wonder more why they took me. Could've also taken TOP instead...“  
"Hey!“, Jiyong said indignantly. "TOP's dressing room was down another hall. Maybe they would've lost too much time to go for him, too... No idea why, but my room was next to CL's from 2NE1.“  
Jiho gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, and 2NE1 were supposed to be performing when they took us. I remember that much. Maybe we we're just unlucky...“  
"Maybe...“, Jiyong said with doubt in his voice.  
He realized Jiho was wearing a scarf and gently took it from the other rapper.  
"I can cool your head with this.“, he explained when Jiho gave him a confused look.  
Running cold water over his hands could not prevent his thoughts from starting to circle again.  
He could figure why they took them. Jiho was also famous, so it would be narcissistic to think they had taken him by accident – Jiyong just could not wrap his head around the fact that they took them. Not two members of the same group. Or someone different. Him and Zico.  
Why? Why not Zico and Jaehyo? Why not him and TOP?  
He got a thankful look from Jiho when he put the wet cloth onto his forehead. The younger hummed and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep.  
After watching him anxiously for a few moments, Jiyong started pacing the room.  
Soon it became too small for his circling thoughts, so he continued walking in the creepy shower, opening the door as silently as possible.  
He needed to remain calm. Find out what their kidnappers wanted. Take care of Jiho. He was the older one, he was responsible for him. Plus, the younger was ill.  
Jiyong would observe their kidnappers closely, maybe they could escape.  
_No need to cry. Probably, we're being searched for already anyway._  
Jiyong stopped next to Jiho and dropped to the floor.  
_No need to..._  
"Shit...“ he whispered and started wiping his eyes with his sleeve.


	4. Zico

He woke up in the middle of the night. At first he was confused about his whereabouts, but then he found G-Dragon fast asleep next to him, felt his scarf on his forehead and an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He remembered.   
Carefully, to not shake his head too much, he got up and moved towards the sink to drink some water. Sleeping had done good, at least he could walk without the fear of puking instantly.   
When he laid back down, it seemed like the ground had gotten colder and harder than before.  
It was difficult to fall asleep again, Jiyong's breathing next to him didn't help either. Jiho looked at his relaxed, peaceful face.  
If he had ever imagined getting the chance to meet G-Dragon and spend some time with him, being kidnapped alongside him had certainly not crossed Jiho's mind.  
It was cool to be allowed to address him informally, though.   
Pushing fear and worry aside, Jiho focused on his breath and the fact he wasn't alone in this.   
His first priority was to recover as soon as possible.  
Finally, he fell asleep.

Some scratching noise woke him up. The first thing he saw was Jiyong on his knees next to him, looking tired, but alert. When he turned his head into the direction Jiyong was facing, Jiho just saw the door to the showers closing. A tray had been put onto the floor with some food on it.   
He sat up and Jiyong got the tray. There were two bowls of clear broth and two bowls of rice on it.  
“At least they apparently don't plan on killing us right now – or else they wouldn't feed us.”   
Jiyong handed Jiho a bowl of soup.  
They ate in siilence.  
“Did anything else happen before I woke up?”, Jiho asked, but Jiyong shook his head.  
“How are you today, Jiho?”  
“I'm okay with the light and talking isn't as exhaustive anymore. Still got a headache, though.”  
“Just make sure you rest.”  
“I will. Thank you for caring, Jiyong.”   
The older smiled weakly. It was still strange for Jiho to call GD by his first name, but also comforting.

The headache came back worse after breakfast, so Jiho decided to lay down again and Jiyong insisted to wash his scarf so it would be cold again. Jiho gladly accepted, even though it made him feel utterly useless.  
“The guy that brought the food in...”, Jiho started after an hour of trying to doze off. “Was he still masked?”  
“Yeah, he was.”, Jiyong answered. “I wonder if they will come and get the tray back...”  
“Do you think we could fight them, if only one unarmed guy entered?”  
Jiyong thought for a moment, then shook his head.  
“I don't think it would be wise to knock one of them out when we don't even know anything about this building and their whereabouts inside of it. We should wait until they talk to us.”  
“Any idea where we are?”  
Jiyong snorted. “Some old factory on the countryside, I guess. Not near the city, I think. But the truck didn't drive for that long, so we actually can't be in the back of beyond...”   
Jiho nodded and closed his eyes again. He hoped to get better soon. Jiyong needed his help to find a way out. He was scared they could take Jiyong somewhere else while he was asleep.

They received food a second time this day, maybe in the late afternoon. Jiho was constantly feeling better and Jiyong told him what he'd been doing while Jiho had slept:   
He had tried to find out about their location. He had spent a few hours listening at the doors in their room and in the showers. Sadly, the only thing Jiyong was sure about now was that they where in the cellar of the building and nobody used the hallways outside, unless they brought food. He had no idea about whether their kidnappers stayed inside the building itself or the surrounding ones or whether they left the site completely.   
Sometimes Jiho had problems focusing on what Jiyong had to say – he blamed it on his concussion. When Jiyong finished, they stared at each other for some time. None of them knew what to say or do now. Jiyong looked as worried as Jiho felt, but still... He was glad he wasn't alone in here. The fact that this energetic and creative young man shared his misery made Jiho feel a little better about their crappy situation.   
“I'm sure they're already searching for us.”, Jiho finally said in an attempt to make Jiyong cheer up a bit. He wished he could support the older emotionally, too.   
Before Jiyong could answer, they heard heavy steps and a door in the bathroom opened. Both of them froze, quickly exchanging a glance.  
Seconds later the door to their room was thrown open, giving a terrible screeching sound making Jiho flinch a little, even though the sound didn't ring inside his head anymore.  
Two masked men entered, the slender one carried a gun, pointing it randomly at Jiho or Jiyong. The other grabbed Jiyong's collar without a word and pulled him to his feet.   
Jiho caught his gaze, Jiyong's eyes were wide, Jiho's own terror reflected in them. But he couldn't move or say anything, he just sat there, mouth agape and stared after them when they dragged his comrade out. Jiyong didn't struggle much, he just tried not to be strangled by the hold of the kidnapper.  
Jiho didn't move until they shut and locked the door to the hallway. They had surprisingly left open Jiho's door to the bathroom.  
Then, he realized that the armed man had taken the trays.  
A second later, silence hit him like a blow to the head. Even though the light in their room as well as in the bathroom was switched on, the rooms seemed to grow dark. What were they going to do with Jiyong? Where would they take him?  
Jiho got up, his mouth was dry, so dry. He stumbled towards the sink, drinking hectically from the faucet and closed his eyes.   
Jiyong's face. He couldn't forget the fear in his eyes.   
He hoped for the best. Probably they were separating them as announced. No need to panic. Or maybe they just wanted a picture of Jiyong, holding a sign with his ransom on it. Like in the movies.   
Jiho closed the faucet and wiped his mouth.   
“Yeah, no need to panic.”, he whispered.   
His voice sounded awkward as it hit the silence in the two rooms.   
Still, he found himself listening carefully for several minutes.   
For the sound of a gun firing.   
For Jiyong screaming.   
For heavy steps in front of the door, when they came to kill him.   
But nothing.   
Just awful silence, crawling in from every corner of those rooms, scaring him.   
He closed the bathroom door, washed his scarf again even though his head was okay right now, sat down with his back to the wall and his knees to his chest and waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything.   
He realized he had been able to deal with his kidnapping better when he was still dazed by the concussion and while Jiyong was with him. He had already wondered why he hadn't been more scared before. Now that he was left alone with himself in those creepy, dirty rooms, and his senses getting better, he felt entirely lost. Like panic had only waited to catch him alone and then drag him into the deepest hole of despair.   
Jiho laid his head on his knees and fought against the urge to cry. He wasn't sure why, the urge just crashed down on him overwhelmingly.   
He lost track of time while crying. This world was just so unfair, why did this have to happen to him? Why did such people exist, after all? Then his headache came back and Jiho stifled his sobs and laid down in a fetal position.   
“This sucks so bad...”

Noise from the bathroom made him jump.   
They opened the door to the bathroom! They were coming back!   
His heart started racing. What was he supposed to do now? Before he could calm down or decide on anything, he heard someone stumble into the bathroom, hissing under their breath. The door was closed, the key turned round.  
Without hesitation, Jiho rushed for the bathroom door and opened it. He stood face to face with a deranged, but very lively Jiyong.  
“Thank god, you're still alive, Hyung!”, Jiho exclaimed, instantly feeling better.  
He grabbed the older by the shoulders and looked at him, glad he wasn't alone anymore.   
“I mean, Jiyong.”   
He looked at the other one. “Are you okay?”, he asked reluctantly and wiped his eyes.  
It was pretty obvious that Jiyong was not okay in the way he'd been okay before they had taken him: His clothes were messy, his hair as well and his eye and cheek were starting to bruise.  
“What did they do to you?”, Jiho pushed Jiyong back into their room, ushered him to sit down and rushed for his wet scarf which he had dropped before.  
“Well, could've been worse.”, Jiyong answered but didn't put much effort into hiding he was in pain.   
“Thanks, Jiho.” With a crooked smile he took the offered scarf and started cooling his face.   
Jiho sat down next to him. Jiyong sighed in relief.  
“Tell me, what happened? What did they say? Do you know anything new?”   
He hated pressuring Jiyong when he was in pain, but it was so important to get information.  
“They took me to the second floor. I guess maybe because there was better light. The windows on the ground floor are all blocked up. They put me on a chair in a room with a window. I could only see some chimneys and roofs, though. They had a camera.” Jiyong paused for a second, changing the scarf to a colder part to cool his face.   
“I had to hold a sign with the ransom they want for me. No idea what amount, I couln't see it.” He hesitated, then gestured towards his face. “They weren't very gentle, as you can see. And they recorded everything.”   
For a moment, Jiyong looked ashamed and Jiho looked away. He felt very sorry but couldn't think of anything useful or sympathetic to say.   
“What else did they-?”  
“They seemed somehow disunited when it came to beating me. Some are more violent than the others. But I think they know each other quite well. And they want my ransom within two days.”  
Jiho didn't dare to ask 'or else?', but Jiyong met his gaze and seemed to guess what he was thinking. “They didn't tell what would happen elsewise...”  
Jiho nodded and they sat in silence. He was trying to switch between being invisible and a comforting presence to Jiyong, who seemed completely absorbed in cooling his bruises.   
Two days was a rather short period of time.  
Then Jiho broke the silence. “Is there also a ransom for me?”  
Jiyong put down the scarf, hestitating. A worried look ghosted his face and he avoided Jiho's eyes. “No. Not yet. I guess they'll figure that out later, because you're ill...”   
This sounded like a good explanation, but he still looked worried, though and Jiho, too, felt some kind of knot grow in his stomach.  
Assumed they wouldn't put a ransom on him... then what was his purpose?   
Did they actually intended to just kidnap GD? Did they somehow take him by mistake?   
Was he maybe here to put some pressure onto Jiyong so that he wouldn't make any problems to protect the younger?   
But they should've taken a band member of BigBang instead to serve that purpose, Jiho thought. Him and G-Dragon actually weren't close at all. At least before their kidnapping.  
“Do you think they'll kill me?”   
The words had slipped out before he could stop them.   
Jiho immediately regretted them. How awfully selfish he was! They just had beaten up Jiyong and put him through a lot of terror, and he was just sitting on his ass-  
“No. Stop talking nonsense!” Jiyong briefly padded his shoulder. “They won't kill us so quickly, don't worry.”  
Jiho tried to swallow his worries. He didn't fancy getting beaten up like poor Jiyong, but if he didn't serve a certain purpose for their kidnappers, this could be even worse. He just wished for someone to find them.   
It took some time for them to fall asleep this evening. Selfish fear for himself and some strange need to care for Jiyong like Jiyong had cared for him before kept Jiho awake. But he couldn't do much for the other apart from offering to wash the scarf to make it cold again.  
He fell asleep half an hour after Jiyong had dozed off. His dreams were confusing and dark, and he woke up several times in the night, fearing their kidnappers had come for him, for Jiyong or for both of them.


	5. Zico

He woke up as soon as he heard the bathroom door open. Even though he was expecting them to bring breakfast, he jumped up as quickly as possible. He realized his headache was gone. Probably, he was out of the woods. Jiyong didn't move so quickly, though. He grunted and looked up to Jiho from the floor. His bruised and sleepy face gave him a unusual rough look.  
Jiho's attention was drawn back towards the door, when two men entered, both dressed in functional, worn-out clothes. As before, one pointed a gun at them.  
Jiho immediately realized they weren't here to bring them food.  
Instead, the unarmed man, the stronger of the two, grabbed him gruffly by his upper-arm and lugged him out of the room. The other guy only brandished his gun. Jiho didn't resist, he just managed to exchange a look with Jiyong over his shoulder to make sure the armed guy would leave him alone.  
Jiyong looked scared, and when the bathroom door closed between them, Jiho felt all alone again. Fear rose up from his stomach and lingered in his throat, making it hard to breathe and difficult not to choke at it. What were they up to?  
They guided him through the cellar, which basically was only a hallway from their prison. He was pushed up some stairs. They didn't stop on the ground floor but made for the second floor instead. Just like Jiyong had told him.  
The kidnappers remained silent the whole time, apart from a “Don't drag your feet, just move your ass, idiot!” when Jiho hesitated on the ground floor.  
Maybe three minutes after leaving Jiyong, Jiho was pushed into a chair which looked and felt like it would collapse any minute in a dusty room, empty except for a camera, a table covered with maps of south-eastern Asia and another masked man.  
He was standing behind the camera in front of a window and was the slenderest of them. The camera was nothing fancy, something you would use for recording your holiday with. Jiho couldn't see outside the window – only a big chimney towered into his sight. So this seemed to be the same room they put Jiyong in yesterday.  
The bulky figure of one of the kidnappers barred his view.  
Jiho swallowed and looked up to him. He could only see his eyes, the rest of the kidnapper's head was covered in a black mask.  
“Soooo...”, the man said, his voice sounding muffled behind the cloth. “You caused us a lot of trouble, dipshit. You know, we needed to figure out who you were first, before we could calculate how much we wanted for you.” With these words, he shoved a cardboard sign into Jiho's hands.  
Jiho couldn't help but look surprised. This sounded indeed like they took him by mistake.  
“Your dressing room was supposed to be GD's.”, they man continued. “They changed it just before you guys arrived at the location. We had already started the operation when we found out.“  
Jiho heard the fourth man enter behind him.  
“Yeah, but relax, brother.“ Jiho listened up. “I got G-Dragon in the end, as my boss hadn't deleted my password for the computers yet.“  
“Shut up!“, the man in front of Jiho hissed, his eyes burning with anger and he quickly gave Jiho a look.  
“Very unfortunate for you, Zico.“ The guy with the gun spoke for the first time. “If you hadn't been there, we wouldn't have taken you. We were only after GD at first.”  
Jiho's heart sank with annoyance. So he was here basically because of an unlucky coincidence? The urge to kick something rose inside him and he clenched his teeth.  
The man seemed to grin at him. “Tough for you, good for us!”  
The guy with the gun grabbed Jiho's hair from behind and pulled sharply until he moaned in pain.  
“Don't think we'll go easy on you, just because you're our guest 'by accident'! We can hurt you as bad as-” He was interrupted by the guy behind the camera.  
“Leave him be Hyung! You don't want to harm his head again, do you? You already almost knocked him out when we took him! He's worth nothing if we cause serious damage on him! Idiot! He still needs to recover.”  
Jiho sighed in relief when the strain on his head was released. He didn't want to, but felt gratitude for the slender guy who had prepared the camera.  
_Finally, someone with some sense..._  
However, his feelings of thankfulness were destroyed quickly when the guy added: “You can still break his legs or ribs if you need to, Hyung. Zico won't be going anywhere soon anyways.”  
Jiho stared at them in shock, while all four of them burst into laughter.  
His body felt numb.  
When they payed more attention to the camera than him, his thoughts started cycling.  
Jiyong and him, they were barely toys, completely at the mercy of four crooks. Crooks with a good plan. He wondered if they intended on leaving the country as soon as they got their money. These guys weren't criminal rookies, they knew what they were doing. And they seemed to be related... the two older guys were brothers, and the slender guy and the aggressive one with the gun...  
Jiyong and him could look for a chance to escape, but there were scarcely any. Not as long as they were locked in that cellar.  
Jiho jumped a little when they suddenly pulled him up again, interrupting his thoughts. Seemingly they were already done with the pictures. Surprisingly quick, but he would be the last to complain about this.  
The younger kidnappers brought him back, almost pushed him back down the stairs and ordered him to go faster all the time. When they reached the first floor, Jiho briefly wondered whether he could just storm down the dark and dusty hallway. He couldn't see far, as the windows were blocked. Since his arms weren't bound, he could've given it a try if his guards had been unarmed.  
Moments later, they pushed him into the bathroom and Jiho made for the door Jiyong was behind, but they held him back.  
“You won't go back in there!” With these words, the small kidnapper opened the third door to the bathroom, which had been locked until now. Hesitating, Jiho went inside the room behind it.  
_They're separating us now?_  
He received a painful stab in the back with the barrel, someone switched on the light, then the door was locked behind him.  
“You're allowed to shower in the evening!”, one of them bellowed through the door, then they were gone.

His new prison was smaller than the other one and the ceiling was lower. There was no sink in it, and with a shiver Jiho realized that he would die of thirst so easily if their kidnappers decided to flee from this place or if they forgot him. He paced the room, but there was nothing – nothing but a few dead spiders. Concrete walls, concrete floor and ceiling with a flickering lamp.  
The door was as solid as the other ones. He pressed his ear to it and tried to hear anything.  
Silence.  
Only his own breath.  
It was unnerving.  
He started beating the door.  
“Hyung, can you hear me? Jiyong! Please answer!”  
He waited. Shivers ran down his spine as nothing happened. He could feel the empty room behind him and throbbed the door until his fists hurt.  
“Jiyong!”, he screamed on top of his lungs. “Please! I'll go crazy inside here alone!”  
He stopped, catching his breath and rubbing his hands.  
A distant pounding grabbed his attention and he stared at the door, really hard, as if his gaze could pierce it. Yeah, there also was a faint voice. From across the bathroom.  
Jiyong was answering, calling his name! Asking whether Jiho was alright and where he was.  
Jiho dropped to the floor in relief. The sound of another human being beyond that bathroom reassured him enough to regain his composure.  
He shouted back that he was in the next room and okay.  
Maybe he wasn't able to talk to Jiyong. Maybe he wouldn't see him again, at least not that soon. But knowing that he was _there_ and able to hear Jiho was enough. He sighed and calmed down a bit.  
Some time later, someone entered the bathroom and unlocked Jiyong's door, before leaving again, locking the bathroom behind them.  
Jiho listened closely. Had they brought some food to Jiyong? He felt he was hungry and wondered if he would receive any food today – he still hadn't had breakfast.  
A few moments later, he heard reluctant steps inside the bathroom. Then a faint knocking on his door.  
“Jiho?” It was Jiyong. “Are you okay? What did they want?” Jiyong tried to open the door, but it was still locked.  
“I'm fine!”, Jiho replied through the door, on his knees, facing the door's surface. “They brought me up to the second floor to take my photo. They finished very quickly, actually. I think they know what they're doing. And I found out that they're related. And I saw some maps on a table. I think they're planning how to get away after this.”  
Jiho realized that he hadn't paid attention to what amount of money they actually wanted for him. But it actually didn't matter, did it?  
“So you're unhurt?”, Jiyong sounded relieved. “Is there another door inside your room? Did they tell you anything?”  
“Here's nothing – there isn't even any water! And they told me they were only after you at first. They took me by accident, because they mistook my dressing room for yours after the organizer changed the rooms last-minute!”  
New despair rose inside Jiho. They could've both evaded the kidnapping – just if one of them had decided to visit a bandmember or go to the toilet... Or if the organizer had changed the schedule of the gigs...  
“They didn't beat me because of my concussion, but they said they would break my legs or similar.”, he added reluctantly. “I think they're dangerous, we must be careful.” His voice died off, the last sentence had been unnecessary. As if Jiyong didn't know that himself.  
After a short pause, the only answer Jiho got was: “Make sure to drink plenty of water when they let you into the bathroom!”  
Jiho nodded in agreement even though Jiyong couln't see him.

 

It became a very long day without any food or drink. Communication with Jiyong was also impossible as soon as the older had been locked up again, as they could only scream against locked doors to hear each other. So Jiho spent the constricting hours alternating between sitting, dozing, talking to himself and making up conversations in his mind to pretend not being alone. He paced the room or did push-ups when the panic came back. He didn't really get why a simple, empty room unsettled him so much, but he guessed it was because this wasn't some random cellar but his prison in a frigging kidnapping.  
Finally, the noise of the bathroom doors announced someone coming in and Jiho tensed up. When he heard them open Jiyong's door first, but locking it again after a few seconds, he calmed down a bit – probably they wouldn't have to skip dinner, too.  
He was right: A small tray was pushed into his prison, with the usual bowl of rice and the broth on it. He couldn't even take a glimpse on the kidnappers bringing him food, they were gone so fast. But they didn't lock his door again, so he guessed it was his turn to use the bathroom.  
After eating as fast as possible, he jumped up to take a quick shower.  
The bathroom was still as creepy as before, even though he hadn't used it much until now due to his concussion earlier. Some dirty cloth had been dumped onto one of the sinks next to the showers. He picked it up gingerly.  
“Is this supposed to be a towel?”, he asked nobody in particular before deciding to go check on Jiyong first.  
He seemed okay as far Jiho could tell through a closed door. When he asked about how his bruises were doing, the older said they weren't any better yet.  
“Yeah, it'll probably take some time until you're as handsome as before, Hyung.”, Jiho said teasingly.  
He couldn't see Jiyong's expression, but when he got a “Stop calling me Hyung, Jiho!” for an answer, it sounded a bit more cheerful than before.  
Jiho realized that as soon as he could leave his room, walk into the bathroom and talk to Jiyong, his gloomy state of mind was gone.  
He took a quick shower, shuddering under the cold water and wondering whether showering was even worth the time, since there was no soap available and the so called 'towel' didn't make him feel cleaner than before. He just finished redressing when he heard footsteps coming closer. He didn't fancy being shooed around _again_ , so he quickly went into his room and closed the door behind him just when the bathroom door opened. Someone opened his door a tiny bit, then closed and locked it without taking the tray with them.  
Strange. Normally they would just storm inside and do what they needed to do, wouldn't they? Maybe only one person had been sent to lock them back in?  
Jiho eyed the door – one person only? Interesting.


	6. GD

Jiyong received food in the morning and judged by what Jiyong heard, so did Jiho, then Jiyong was allowed to use the bathroom. He didn't shower, though, as that disgusting piece of cloth seemed to still be the same as the day before. He wasn't moving a lot, so maybe showering every second day would be sufficient, he hoped.  
“New clothes would be great, though.”, he sighed.  
Instead, he washed Jiho's scarf to cool his face with under the shower to make it look like he had used it – maybe the kidnappers didn't know they could talk to each other through the doors. Maybe they wouldn't like it if they did.  
He paused for a second when he turned off the water – was he becoming paranoid?  
When he sat down in front of Jiho's door, Jiyong realized that he was clutching to the scarf like it was some kind of plushie. It was somewhat comforting to him, it made him feel less alone since they had taken Jiho.  
“How are you doing, Jiho? Could you sleep? Are you getting enough to drink?”, he asked through the door. Worrying for the younger made him worry less for himself.  
“Well, I didn't sleep much, to be honest.”, Jiho answered after a few seconds, his voice sounding muffled and distant. Had he been crying?  
“It's pretty hard to last the whole night... and day to the next evening with only that cup of broth.”, he added.  
Now it sounded like he had moved closer to the door, but he still sounded somewhat strange.  
Jiyong raised an eyebrow and changed position – his back was aching from sleeping on the hard concrete floor.  
“If you need more water, Jiho, I could leave your scarf in the shower. You can soak it and take it with you in reserve. It would be far cleaner than this... towel they gave us.”  
Jiho was silent for a moment. Jiyong wondered what was going on. Did he fall asleep?  
“But if they take it from us?”, the younger asked. “There's nowhere you could hide the scarf. And you couldn't cool your face anymore...”  
Jiyong didn't like how passive Jiho sounded. Jiho's next words he even liked less:  
“I think they'll most likely take it away – we could hang ourselves by it somehow, after all. They won't risk this.”  
Jiyong didn't know what to say.  
_There's nothing in the bathroom to hang yourself by, stupid. And I hope that applies for you cell, too. Stop being so depressed, please._  
He tried a different topic.  
“Listen, Jiho. I think there's only one person of them taking care of us most of the time. Only one of them unlocking the bathroom door and bringing food.”  
Jiho's voice finally sounded closer when he answered. “Yeah, I thought so, too, yesterday. Do you think... we could escape somehow? Using that door that leads into your room, the one they brought us here through?”  
It had only been a vague idea in the back of Jiyong's mind, but apparently Jiho was a bright guy.  
“Yeah, something like that, maybe. Let's wait and see if they establish some patterns. Let's see who will get the trays back, for example. I'd bet they'll come in by twos again.”  
“Okay, okay.”, Jiho didn't sound as tired anymore. “But then I think you have the better chance to escape since the door's in your room.”  
Before Jiyong could answer, he heard footsteps and quickly said goodbye to Jiho.  
When he jumped up, the two younger kidnappers entered the room, one of them armed. Jiyong wasn't surprised at all that they used their “advantage in numbers” to collect the trays, like he had predicted.  
With a wisp of contempt he wondered why they even bothered.

 

The next hours elongated endlessly with his breath being the only sound interrupting the silence. Jiyong stood with his back against the door and stared at the floor. He had no idea how much time had passed. Jiho was still locked up, so it still wasn't evening yet.  
He looked at his fingers, crumpled from the wet scarf he kept scrunching up, sighed and was sure he would die of boredom.  
Finally, Jiyong started singing to relieve the pressure on his ears. He sang some of his own songs, songs by other bands and singers he liked, happy and stupid songs from his childhood, lullabys his mother had sung to him...  
At first he couldn't prevent a few tears from running down his cheeks when his emotions started overwhelming him. He wondered what his family was doing right now, his fellow bandmembers, his friends. Surely they knew by now that he had been kidnapped. Probably they were worried sick and did everything to find him.  
After a few more minutes of singing, he started feeling better – his thoughts stopped circling through negativity and it felt like a part of him had left this cell and breathed fresh air again.  
Considering the fact he was a person of the public, it was very likely TV had covered his missing. Maybe half of the country was looking for GDragon and Zico right now. Their kidnappers had demanded a lot of money for Jiho and him, so they would have had to contact the media or their agencies somehow.

Some time in the afternoon, right in the second chorus of Bang Yongguk's “I Remember”, when Jiyong finally felt his voice tire, he opened his eyes after having kept them shut for an hour or so and looked at the door that led to the stairs outside. Singing had made him so positive, he was almost expecting a rescue-team to burst through this door into the room every second.  
When Jiho was finally allowed to use the bathroom, Jiyong felt happier than ever since he had been dragged out of his dressing room. He jumped up to meet Jiho at the door.  
At first, he heard the sound of water, probably Jiho had to drink his fill.  
“I heard you singing, Jiyong.”, Jiho greeted him after turning off the water. “Great idea! I wanted to sing, too, but then I actually spent more time sitting and pricking up my ears to listen to you.”  
He somehow managed to sound like an enthusiastic fan.  
Jiyong grinned and shook his head. He was glad the younger seemingly had recovered from his gloomy mood.  
“Thanks. Don't think I'll sing for you the whole time – next is your turn!”, Jiyong repeated.  
“But back to serious: It's just a matter of time until we're rescued, I think. We're too valuable, they won't harm us. Well, at least not worse than they already have. Maybe... we should just keep a low profile and keep observing, Jiho. The police will need our information when they catch those guys.”  
“So, no forging out escape plans?”  
“Naah, just keeping our eyes open.”  
Jiho didn't answer for a while and Jiyong wondered whether he was upset about this proposal.  
“I don't like sitting around doing nothing, Jiyong. They beat you up, after all! But the deadline for your ransom ends this evening, doesn't it? Or maybe tomorrow, I don't know when they submitted their demand...”  
Jiyong had to swallow first before answering. He had successfully repressed any thought of the deadline and any speculation about what might happen after it. The memory of himself sitting in that room upstairs was just... rather painful and humiliating.  
Suddenly his worries were back.  
In the meantime, Jiho went on: “When it's this evening, maybe the cops planned to arrest them when they handed over the money. So maybe they're on their way to us right now and that guy who let me in here is the only one left of them.”  
Jiyong's mouth became dry. Jiho's story sounded made up. Did he even believe it himself? Was he trying to unsettle or to comfort Jiyong?  
Laying a hand on the door, Jiyong wished he could see Jiho's eyes.  
Being confined did strange things to him, he realized. He barely knew Jiho, but now he sat here in his cell, clinging to Jiho's scarf, without using it to cool his bruises anymore, listening to Jiho's voice and just wishing for them to not be separated anymore.  
“...hyung? Are you alright?”  
Jiyong tried to not let his voice sound as perturbed as he felt right now.  
“It's just... I think being jailed really affects your psyche after some time. I'm feeling a little down right now. I completely forgot about the deadline...”  
“I am so sorry, Jiyong, I didn't mean to-”  
“It's not your fault, Jiho.”  
A gentle knock on the door made him look at it in confusion.  
“I know how you feel, Jiyong. I really admire you for being so strong, though. My cell is so confined and dirty and dark, I feel like I'm going crazy. Sometime it seems the ceiling is coming down to crush me...” Jiho laughed shyly.  
Jiyong stared at the door in shock and remembered the condition Jiho had been in this morning. Immediately he felt like he had less right to lament – Jiho was really suffering over there.  
“Thank you for singing.”, Jiho added. “I... didn't feel very well before, but then I heard your voice. Focusing on it did good to me.”  
A sudden warmth spread inside Jiyong's chest.  
“You're welcome, Jiho. Sorry for... I won't let you down again, okay? Just keep your head up! Try to sing yourself if you don't feel well, okay?”  
“Yeah. Sorry, I don't want you to worry. I'm better now.”  
Jiyong couldn't help but remember Jiho talking about hanging oneself with the scarf before and the memory gave him chills.  
“Jiho? Will you promise me something?”  
He wondered how to phrase his next sentence. “Don't leave me here alone, okay? Don't be selfish. I'm suffering, too. Please. I know I'm the older one, but right now I can't... I hate being separated, too, okay?”  
“I promise, Jiyong-Hyung.”, Jiho sounded agitated. “Sorry. I'll get my shit together.”  
This moment, the bathroom door was unlocked from outside.  
Jiyong could hear Jiho being ordered back into his room, the door being shut after some moments, then his own door opened and he received his dinner. He listened to his door being locked, to the steps leaving the bathroom and the bathroom door being locked.  
He ate, humming some random melodies, before curling up with his back to the wall next to the door, Jiho's scarf under his head, pressed to his cheek.  
After a while, the silence he was listening to was mixed with faint sounds from across his walls. When Jiyong listened closely, he could make out Jiho's voice, singing. He barely understood the words, but heard the melodies.  
With a faint smile on his face, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment =D


	7. Zico

Somehow, he managed to sleep in. Or at least it felt like it when he woke up. He had slept surprisingly well and the first thing that bothered him were not those terrible walls around him, but the absence of food. Why hadn't they brought it yet?

Jiho rubbed his eyes, yawned and frowned about how stiff he felt. Then he remembered his conversation with Jiyong yesterday. How awkward it had felt when the other singer had made him promise to keep his shit together. Very embarrassing. Jiyong hadn't seen him for almost two days, but he had realized how Jiho felt.

_Probably because he feels the same, just as he said, idiot._

Right now, Jiho felt ashamed and stupid that he had mentioned that one of them could hang themselves. The thought had just struck him – after hours of feeling like this room was devouring his soul, he had been really gloomy.

He pulled his knees close and hugged them. Strange, how he was okay right now while yesterday he had felt so messed up.

The impression of being buried between concrete walls had come upon him the night before, making it impossible to sleep. He had tried walking around, but it had only worsened his mental condition and made him thirsty. Jiho had spent the rest of the night sitting in a corner, dozing off, crying occasionally and trying to not think of death while awake. Death of thirst, death by starving, death by some masked man storming in and shooting him. Yeah, he had simply wished to disappear. Hadn't cared about how. When Jiyong finally spoke to him through the door in the morning, it was like being pulled out of a nightmare. Jiyong's offer to give him back the scarf had made Jiho think of strangling himself or being strangled the next adverse moment, so he had quickly declined it.

Then, when the older brought up the idea of escape it was like his brain had waited for something, anything to deal with. Something to ponder about when his thoughts started circling again.

“Yeah, I think I was on the brink of going crazy yesterday.”, Jiho mumbled to himself and got up. But today he would be fine.

Maybe singing was the best cure he could've gotten in here. He felt very grateful for Jiyong.

To make sure he stayed okay, he started humming while pacing his room.

What time was it? Should he bang on his door and listen for Jiyong's answer?

_It can't be that late, he didn't use the bathroom yet..._ , he thought, just to realize he needed to use the bathroom himself. Everything in here was so inhuman.

“Damn.” The kept them here like animals. Who did they think they were? They could've at least keep them prisoner in a slightly better place than this creepy cellar.

“Fuck this!” Jiho shouted and kicked the door.

“Fuck all of this!”

Like a reply, he heard the door to the hallway and jumped. Hopefully, they hadn't heard his outburst., he worried.

He only heard the faint sound of something being dropped to the bathroom floor, then the door was locked again.

Well, this was new, actually. What did they bring? New towels maybe? Some soap, bathrobes and fresh clothing?

Jiho couldn't help but sneer at the mere thought. He really wanted to change his clothes. But he would have to tame his curiosity until they let Jiyong into the bathroom – he would tell Jiho what they had brought in.

Damn, why did it take them so long today? Actually, why hadn't they let Jiyong into the bathroom right now? It couldn't be still around dawn, could it?

Jiho started walking in circles and tried to make up some new raps. They were pretty dark and probably pretty shitty as well but Jiho was content his creativity hadn't suffered so far.

The sound of pouring water interrupted him. Confused, he stopped, just to be even more confused when he recognized it was the shower.

But nobody had let Jiyong out of his room, neither had anyone entered the bathroom...!

This was rather scary...

Leery, Jiho approached the door and pressed his ear against it.

He could hear the water splashing onto the tiles.

Who was taking a shower right now? Curiosity nibbled at his stomach, but he was too scared to scream and ask, because if it had been Jiyong, he would've talked to him first, right?

Holding his breath, Jiho kept listening.

A gasp, a faint moan. Jiho looked at the door, now confused and worried.

Some... sobbing?

Without further hesitation, he started banging against his door.

“Jiyong, is that you? Hey, can you hear me?”

The sound of water became less noisy, but there was no answer.

“Jiyong?!”

Some croaking sound came from behind the door, but he couldn't understand a word – it just made him cringe with worry.

Close to panicking, Jiho kicked his door.

“Dammit!”, he cursed. Of course this wasn't any good, the door was to massive.

“Fuck-” instinctively, Jiho grabbed the doorhandle “-this?”

In utter disbelief, he stared at the door which he had just opened a tiny bit.

The light from the bathroom fell through the crack. It had been open the whole time?

Now Jiho remembered that they had pushed him inside his room yesterday, had given him food and then had turned towards Jiyong's room without locking his door before leaving. He had focused on staying sane, so he hadn't really noticed.

Cursing himself, he opened the door and rushed inside the bathroom only to freeze on the spot when he saw Jiyong.

He was in his underwear, clothes dropped carelessly to the floor, standing under the water jet, his weight completely on his right foot, eyes closed. His lips were already blue, but he didn't move. Large bruises, seemingly turning darker as Jiho looked at them, covered his ribcage so Jiho could cleary see where they had kicked him. Jiyong's lip was red and swollen and the bruises in his face from two days ago had multiplied.

Jiho couldn't help but breathe in sharply when he looked at Jiyong's abused body.

Slowly, Jiho approached him, feeling cold despite of not standing under the shower. He wanted to say something, but all he could do was stare at Jiyongs body. Several cuts were scattered over his arms, the blood still oozing from some of the few deeper ones was swept away immediately by the water.

Jiho covered his mouth and felt tears welling up in his eyes.

He felt the water slowly soaking his jeans as he stood right in front of Jiyong, who was shivering and gave another sob.

“Jiyong.”, Jiho said softly and turned the shower off.

Gently, he touched Jiyong's wet hair and pushed it out of his face to inspect the damage further. The eye that had already been bruised was swollen – he could see it even though it was closed - and the lip was split open. As no more water ran over the cut, it started bleeding again. A laceration over the eyebrow. More bruises. Damn, had the broken a cheekbone? Jiho couldn't tell.

Jiyong flinched under his touch.

What was he supposed to do now? Feelings were crashing down on him – guilt, fear, compassion, anger, sadness.

“Hey. I'm here.”, he started. “You still got all your teeth?”

Jiyong flinched again when Jiho laid his hands on his shoulders, but nodded with a sob and finally opened his eyes. Only the unscathed opened completely. Their expression made Jiho's heart break. He couldn't remember having seen such pain, shame and despair in anyone's eyes before.

“God, what...?”

Carefully, Jiho guided the older out of the shower. Jiyong was limping and Jiho begged silently that no bones were broken. He wondered whether bad fractures could get inflamed if not treated properly.

They stopped in the middle of the room, Jiho was unsure what to do now.

Jiyong didn't say anything, but wrapped his arms lightly around Jiho's waist, pulled him closer, buried his face into his chest and cried with silent sobs.

Jiho felt his heart sting and tried to hold Jiyong tighter without hurting him. The other was cold and fragile in his arms.

Slowly, Jiho went down on his knees, taking his Hyung with him. He realized tears were running down his own cheeks and dripping in Jiyong's hair.

“I'm so sorry, Ji...”, he mumbled while he felt his clothes being soaked from Jiyong crying on his chest and pressing heavily into him now. As a response, Jiyong's body started shaking like crazy, fingers painfully clawed into Jiho's back and a tormented mix of moaning and sobbing emerged from Jiho's chest. All he could do was sit helplessly, gently pat Jiyong's back or hair and cry with him.

 

 

He didn't know how long they sat in the bathroom, next to a puddle of water, curled together and crying.

But finally, Jiyong moved his head from Jiho's chest next to his ear and whispered:

“You have to leave. As long as you still can.” His voice was so shaky, Jiho instinctively started rubbing Jiyong's back.

“Don't wait until they break your legs, Jiho. They will when they feel like it.”

Jiho understood that Jiyong was in an exceptional emotional state and he was scared himself as he knew they were less safe now than before. But that wouldn't make Jiho rush into things.

“Why did they do this to you? What's going on?”, as asked in a low voice.

“They didn't get their money, of course.”, Jiyong explained, his mouth still next to Jiho's ear. “They were so pissed and decided to put more pressure on the cops by releasing pressure themselves... The brother of the slender guy has a thing for beating defenceless people...”

Jiho swallowed and remembered when he was captured by the three guys. Jiyong was probably talking about the guy that had knocked him over without much ado.

“And... your arms?”

Jiyong froze and Jiho immediately regretted the question. But he received an answer, though.

“Their father. He's an insane and sadistic bastard... for real. You can't even... and the guy that kidnapped me didn't give a fuck, just left with the smaller dude... “ Jiyong's voice trailed off. “Please run away, Jiho.”

“But when? Right now?” Jiho tried to focus on options how to escape, but all he could think of was leaving a badly hurt and traumatized Jiyong behind.

“I could wait in your room for them, Jiyong.”, he thought out loud. “Wait until one of them shows up, knock them out, take their keys and run. But I won't go without you. I can't leave you here.”

“You have to.”, Jiyong whimpered next to his ear, his breath tickling Jiho's skin. “I can't run. I can barely move.”

“But I can't leave you here. I'm scared they might kill you when they find out I'm gone. And when I look at you I no longer doubt that they're capable of killing us.”

Jiyong's fingers clutching into his back relaxed and ran down dispiritedly until they touched the floor.

“You know, Jiho... If _I_ would escape... they would kill _you_. But maybe _you_ would be fast enough to get help before they kill me.”

Jiho didn't reply but simply ran his fingers soothingly through Jiyongs hair. He noticed Jiyong had goosebumps and felt how cold he was himself.

“Jiyong, let's see if your clothes are still dry. You mustn't catch a cold right now.”

They were, more or less, and Jiho helped Jiyong redress.

They avoided each other's eyes out of embarrassment.

“Jiho, I'm sorry you have to take care of me.” Jiyong finally said. This was a painful statement.

“Stop being sorry, Ji!”, Jiho insisted softly. “Why certainly I'm taking care of you. Why shouldn't I? We must stick together. You're the only one I...”, he trailed off. He would protect Jiyong. The older had sung for him before, and he had no idea how much it had helped Jiho. A human being he had been looking up at for such a long time now needing his help made a twisted part of his mind feel a bit proud of being able to prove himself.

But Jiyong was right – Jiho had to act as long he was still healthy. Nobody knew what their tormentors would decide tomorrow or even this afternoon – maybe mutilate him or Jiyong because they didn't receive any ransom yet? Who knew?

Jiyong sneezed, flinching with pain. “Oh no...”, he mumbled, casting Jiho a quick glance before looking back down.

Jiho cringed internally at Jiyong's shame for the bruises that weren't his fault.

“Come on, you have to rest.”

He led Jiyong back into his cell. His scarf was hanging over the faucet, he washed it and knelt down next to Jiyong.

“What did they do to your foot? You can barely walk.”, Jiho inquired. “Is it broken?”

“No idea.” Jiyong flinched when he tried to move his foot. It was swollen and Jiho didn't dare to touch it.

“Maybe you're right, Ji.”, Jiho said, changing the topic as he felt showing more attention to Jiyong's injuries would only increase his embarrassment. “I hate the idea of leaving you alone, but it won't help any of us if they beat me up, too, so none of us can escape.”

Jiyong nodded and looked most unhappy. “Try to find a real opening. I think this door here is the fastest – and safest – way outside.” He pointed towards the door that led outside to the stairs.

“But... whenever you do it, don't risk being shot, okay...?”

They heard footsteps from the hallway and the bathroom door being unlocked.

Jiyong pressed the scarf to his face, hiding his eyes but Jiho had seen the panic in them. He felt a gentle touch on his wrist, only fingertips brushing his skin.

Jiho's mouth felt dry when he looked at Jiyong. He tried to say “We'll be okay, I promise.”, but he didn't manage to utter the words before the two men entered the room, pulled Jiho to his feet and dragged him back into his cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Guys, now we're about halfway through. Thank you so much for reading until now! =D


	8. GD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking so long to upload, guys. I'm very busy at the moment. I'll try to upload more regularly again, though... You can bug me in the comments so I won't forget again ;D

Pain.

Pain everywhere. Jiyong tried not to move and breathe steadily. He kept his eyes closed and desperately focused on everything else but his aching body and the terrible memories of what had happened this morning.

The cold, hard ground beneath him.

Jiho's faint scent, still lingering in the wet cloth he pressed to his face. Jiho must be quite fond of the scarf and wear it often as it still smelled a bit like him even if it had been washed several times now.

His fingers were wrinkly from holding the wet cloth all the time. Or rather from showering, Jiyong wasn't sure.

He thought of how quickly and painfully they had seized him this morning. Had dragged him up the stairs, not saying a word, and he had anticipated something bad to happen.

They had pushed him to the ground, all four of them around him...

 

_Angry screams,_ _they were accusing each other so fast he couldn't follow completely. All he felt was_ _panic, pain, fear. He was laying on the floor, getting kicked, desperately trying to protect his head._ _Then two of them left and the other two turned to him_ _again_ _._

_Pain everywhere._

_He couldn't even hear himself screaming anymore._

_He was sure he would die that moment._

_Helplessness, the urge to fight and live, but_ _h_ _e_ _knew he_ _was too weak._

_Then, finally, the wish for everything to be over. He remembered being at the edge of unconsciousness, when the father stopped his son and pulled out the knife. His malicious smile when he explained a bit of blood on Jiyong's picture would work wonders._

_Jiyong tried to crawl away, but the younger guy stepped on his ankle. Or rather jumped._

_Strange, how he didn't remember the immediate pain._

_Next thing he knew for sure was the man sitting on top of him, wielding the knife like crazy, cutting all over Jiyong's arms while he tried to at least fend off the blade from his head._

_And he wished the son had just broken his neck before._

 

Jiyong felt his heart race in his chest. His eyes jerked open but there was only the concrete ceiling and a dirty lightbulb over him. He tried to roll over in a fetal position, but just moaned in pain and stopped the movement. He didn't want to feel anything, didn't want to wonder about which bones were broken or not. Every breath remembered him that he wasn't alright. Even looking at his forearms told him about what they had done to him when kicking wasn't fun anymore. The knot in his throat told him he was about to cry once more.

_Focus on something else!_ , he ordered himself and tried to regain his calm breathing.

Closed his eyes again.

He heard his blood rush in his ears and his heart pounding in his chest.

Then he heard Jiho's voice. Faint, but he could hear it. Singing. Like last evening. Jiyong laid very still to hear him.

_Just focus on Jiho's voice. Nothing else. Breathing could hurt worse, maybe there even aren't any broken ribs that could pierce your lung. And if you're bleeding internally – well, then you'll die soon enough so they won't hurt you ever again..._

He felt his heart rate coming down.

 

Jiho sang a long time. Jiyong had no idea how long, actually, until he heard them come again and had to fight the raising panic. Jiho kept singing until they unlocked his door.

Jiyong heard him talk to the kidnapper. Both voices sounded annoyed. Then a cursing, definitely not Jiho, and steps approaching his door. He squeezed his eyes firmly shut and prayed to just get his food and then be left alone. His door was opened, an unfriendly grunt, someone coming into his room. He flinched when they got down next to him. Then he heard Jiho's voice.

“Hey. How're you doin'?”

Jiyong looked at the younger and was relieved that it was him.

“Could be better.” He tried to smile, but it hurt too much. Jiho's eyes were full of sympathy when he grabbed the scarf and got up to wash it.

“I convinced them to allow me to make sure your won't die.” Jiho sounded slightly amused. “Here, your scarf. I'll get your food, they gave it to me.”

Jiyong felt deeply thankful to have someone care for him. When the younger sat down next to him with the small tray with the usual food on it, a wave of shame washed over Jiyong. This was an embarrassing, humiliating and undignified situation. But he couldn't help it.

Maybe Jiho had guessed his thoughts, as he said: “Please don't be ashamed of yourself. It's not your fault we're in this crappy situation. It's not your fault they're inhuman, greedy, sadistic assholes up there.” He helped Jiyong sit up can handed him the broth.

“I can bring you more water if you want to.”

“Thank you.” Jiyong sighed. “I just wish I could properly work out an escape plan with you instead of needing help and looking like crap.”

Jiho nodded in agreement. “They didn't break a bone, did they?” He gestured towards Jiyong's face. “Your nose seems to be okay...”

“No idea. Everything hurts. But I think my torso is worse off, I managed to protect my head most of the time.”

Jiho got up to fetch his own food.

They ate in silence, only interrupted when Jiyong moved in an unfavourable manner and winced.

“You know what?”, Jiho mumbled after a while, mouth full of rice.

“Mh?”

“The guy who let me into your room. He was alone. And unarmed. He's the slender one, I think he operated the camera when they had taken me upstairs. He persuaded the others to not smash my head because I had my concussion. And he accepted when I told him you could die if no one looked after you. He seems to have some sense.”

Jiyong just remembered all four of them beating the hell out of him.

“His boots were as hard as those of the others”, he answered sourly. “And he just left me with his crazy relatives.”

“Sorry, what I meant to say was: Maybe he's naïve. He's the weakest, but yet you can engage him into conversation. Maybe... if you still want me to escape, he's our guy.”

Jiyong chewed his rice delicately and thought about this for a moment, reconsidered, now, that he was emotionally more stable.

He wanted someone to rescue him and Jiho. If Jiho escaped, he could get help. If they were lucky, someone would come for him within a few hours after Jiho had left. But...

“I'll probably die of fear if you leave me alone”, he admitted, “but you need to get out. The faster, the better. Then the police can come and fetch me.”

Jiho looked into his eyes and seemed torn, struggling between staying and caring for Jiyong and running away.

“Don't worry about me!”, Jiyong insisted. “Sorry for saying I would be scared. Of course I will, but you just need to be fast enough! I'm sure half of Korea is looking for us, you'll get help pretty quickly. Just seize the right moment.”

Jiho still looked unsure.

“Please, Zico!”

 

They came in twos some time later, again with a gun, took the trays and led Jiho back into his cell. The moment his door was locked, Jiyong felt fear and loneliness crawling back to him out of the corners of his prison, stronger than ever before. What had happened this day had destroyed all of his mental barriers. He prepared for a terrible night.

Indeed, he barely slept, he missed Jiho's voice. When he managed to doze off, he was haunted by nightmares, involving getting beaten up, him or Jiho being tortured, one of them dying and other unpleasant images. The lightbulb Jiho had left switched on started flickering, causing him even more terror. He kept his eyes shut and humming random melodies while he tried to think of every happy situation he had been in in his whole life. He barely remembered any.

 


	9. GD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comment =D

The next morning his door got unlocked and someone pushed his breakfast into the room before Jiyong could even wake up properly. His sleep had been uneasy until early morning when he had finally managed to reach a deeper stage of sleep.

He heard Jiho's door getting unlocked as well. He was awake in an instant. Because normally, they wouldn't let Jiho out until evening.

He heard a short discussion between Jiho and two men, then they left. Shortly after the bathroom door had been locked, he heard Jiho's steps approaching his door and smiled.

“Good morning, Jiyong. How are you feeling?”

“Crappy. But it's good to hear your voice.” Jiyong greeted him sincerely.

Jiho had brought his own food and while they were eating, he explained excitedly: “They'll leave my door open, they said, only lock yours. They still don't want us to be together in a room for longer than necessary, but they suddenly worry about me having no faucet in my cell. So I can use the bathroom any time I need to.”

Jiyong felt his heart jump and getting a little bit excited, too. “It's strange they suddenly seem to care so much. And yet they're so cruel... So why all of a sudden...? Do you think they'll leave for a while? ”

Jiho shrugged.

“No idea. I wonder if they received a setback when they beat you up...” He quickly scrutinized Jiyong, worry flashing in his eyes. “Maybe they didn't get a ransom they wanted to have? I'll ask when they drag me out of your room again.”

That sounded kind of daring. But maybe only to Jiyong, as he feared their kidnappers right now more than anything.

Jiyong looked at Jiho – just a few days ago he had been ill and really needed someone to comfort him and care. The younger seemed different now. Now Jiyong felt like they had switched positions and that Jiho was ready and willing to take the role of the caring one. Jiyong was sure that Block B's leader didn't panic anymore when he was locked in his cell. He looked calm and focused.

“You really made up your mind and got your shit together, ha?”

Jiho's eyes met his and he nodded. “I am responsible for you now, Ji, since you can't walk. I can't let you down.”

When Jiyong didn't answer immediately, Jiho came a bit closer. “Don't worry, okay? I'll get out as soon as I find an opportunity and I'll get help!”

They stared at each other for some moments. Jiyong saw the determination in Jiho's eyes and how the younger tried to hide his worries.

“Your lip is bleeding again.”, Jiho said.

Jiyong licked his lips, tasting iron. “Yeah, I bit myself when they kicked me.”

He carefully felt the cut with his tongue, his saliva burning slightly in the wound.

“I think your eye is worse off.” Jiho carefully brushed his fingers over the skin next to the bruise.

It tickled.

“Keep cooling it.”, Jiho shoved the scarf back into his hands and Jiyong obeyed even though cooling his bruises with water all the time made his skin feel flaky and dry.

They remained silent as Jiho put the trays on top of each other.

Then the bathroom door to the hallway was unlocked and Jiho stood, waiting for their door to open.

They came in by twos, again. They fetched the trays, not really paying attention to their prisoners. Jiyong exchanged a look with Jiho, before the younger left and the door separating them was locked again.

Their kidnappers were becoming more careless. Jiyong felt his heart pound in his chest while he stared at the door and listened to the men leave. There was some sort of tension lingering in the space between him, the door, and Jiho on the other side.

 

For a while, Jiyong just listened to the silence, Jiho apparently did the same on his side of the door. He was there, sitting right behind the door – Jiyong was sure about this, he could almost feel him. Some strange connection had been established between the both of them.

Then finally, Jiho said:

“Jiyong? What will you do first after we get out of here? I mean, except from changing clothes?”

His voice sounded very clear, Jiyong closed his eyes and imagined Jiho sitting with his back to the door while speaking.

“I'll go see a doctor, of course.” He laughed bitterly but stopped as pain shot through his body.

“I just hope we'll get both out of this alive, Zico.”

“ 'Course we will! Don't give up so easily. Just remember, they want ransom for us. Okay, they apparently didn't get it yet, but they won't kill us, Ji.”

That nickname, all the time... A faint smile crossed Jiyong's lips. He enjoyed the comforting feeling the name invoked in him so he let the younger have his way.

“You know, Ji, you and me... we could go to a karaoke bar and sing together after we're out of here. I mean, we already sung together in here. I liked it, but I'd like it even more in a better place than this.”

Keeping his eyes closed, Jiyong's smile got wider.

“Sounds good, actually. Ok, I promise to go to karaoke with you. Just the two of us. If our bands would come, too, the public would make a fuss out of it.”

Jiho laughed. “Now it sounds like a date!”

“Dream on!”, Jiyong shot back but grinned and forgot for a moment that he was locked in a dark, cold cellar, bruised and battered, not able to walk properly and endangered of being beaten up again or worse.

“You know”, Jiho seemed to be talkative right now, “when I started my career, I really wanted to become as famous as you. I still look up to you. I always wanted to meet and talk to you. I imagined us having very deep and inspiring conversations.”

He paused and Jiyong kept quiet, curious what Jiho would say next.

“I think a lot of people imagine meeting their role models and doing cool stuff together. But with all due respect, Hyung, I hate our adventure here.”

“Yeah, reality is never as great as your imagination, isn't it?”, Jiyong agreed. “I'd prefer us hanging out at some cool place, too.”

Jiho snickered. Then he got serious all of a sudden and asked: “If I died, would you tell my Mom I love her?”

“You're not as optimistic as you try to seem, ha?” Jiyong hoped Jiho didn't get strange thoughts again. “You won't die. But I would tell her, don't worry.”

“Just in case... What would you want me to do? If something happened to you?”

Jiyong sighed. “Probably also to tell my family I loved them. And give Taeyang a hug.”

Thinking of his friend hurt. He really missed that dork. And the others.

Jiho hummed. “Okay.”

As his body started aching worse again without him moving, Jiyong changed position and laid flat on the ground. He'd been sleeping on this rock solid floor for days now and soon he wouldn't know anymore how to lay down without his back and neck protesting.

 

When Jiho was visited by their hosts again some time later, Jiyong was not prepared for what would follow after the visitor stepped into the bathroom.

He heard Jiho back away from the door.

Steps came closer, but then there was a sudden noise and a moan.

Jiyong felt his heart jump and tried to get to his feet, but without success.

Another punch, Jiho hissing, a sharp cry of pain.

Jiyong stared at the door, eyes wide, heart in his mouth and felt anxious for Jiho.

The next strike sent a body to the floor and Jiyong shuffled backwards, away from the door. He prayed that Jiho had won.

At first, slow steps approached the door to the hallway and locked it. Then they came back to Jiyong's door.

The key was inserted into the lock. He knew that he was probably in big trouble if the kidnapper would be the one to enter.

But when the door opened and Jiho looked at him, wiping his cheek where he had received a blow, Jiyong made it to his feet. He saw a masked man laying on the bathroom floor, unconscious. It looked like it was the guy “with some sense”, according to Jiho.

Jiho quickly paced the room to support Jiyong and he gladly grabbed the younger's shoulder.

“You made it, Zico.”

“Yeah, he was pretty unprepared.” Jiho was breathing heavily. “They got used to me being obedient.” He grinned.

Jiyong grabbed both of Jiho's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. “Great job. You got the keys? Lock that guy inside your cell. Then get out through this door behind me.”

Jiho nodded and got to work. While he was pulling the guy inside the smaller room across the showers, he said: “I wonder why he came here, alone and unarmed. It's far too early for dinner... Hugh, guy's pretty heavy for being so slender...”

For a second he looked at Jiyong disappointedly because he couldn't help him with his task.

“He didn't say anything before I attacked him.”

Jiyong watched Jiho locking up the guy, clutching to the door frame to support himself. Now that Jiho could run away, he felt somewhat sick. Not that much because of excitement and hope, though.

“You know, if it weren't for the others”, Jiyong pointed towards the ceiling, “if speed wasn't important, I would come with you.”

Jiho looked at him from across the bathroom, hand still resting on the door which he had just locked. He paced the room and pulled Jiyong into a hug. Jiho gently pushed him back into the cell, kicking the door shut behind them.

“I'll lock this door, okay?”, Jiho mumbled into his ear and Jiyong leaned into him, carefully, so his ribcage wouldn't hurt more than it already did.

“If this'll make you feel better for me...”, Jiyong whispered back. He was blinking rapidly as he felt like crying. Maybe this was the last time he saw a friend in his life. If Jiho didn't make it out of the factory premises and reach help, then...

Damn his foot! He tried to put weight on it, but the sharp pain shooting through his body made him flinch and Jiho looked at him worried.

“Don't. If it's broken...” Jiho's voice was low.

Jiyong nodded and pulled out of the hug. The younger didn't look at him but fiddled with the keys in his hands.

“You must leave.”, Jiyong said. “As soon as they miss their buddy, they'll be after you! And”, he couldn't prevent himself from saying this, “maybe they'll want to know which direction you went...” He swallowed. Not again. If they would beat him up again like last time, he wasn't sure he would survive.

Jiho looked up, tears in his eyes and grabbed Jiyong's shoulders, ignoring that Jiyong flinched in pain.

“Are you sure you don't want to hide somewhere outside?”

Jiyong, unable to speak as there was a lump in this throat, laid his hands on Jiho's and pulled them from his shoulders, gently pressing them. He shook his head.

Jiho started crying silently, pressing back and Jiyong, feeling he was about to loose it if Jiho stayed any longer, begged him with his eyes to leave.

“I'll make it, okay! Just hold on. Trust me, I'll be back with help as soon as possible!”, Jiho whispered and let go.

He found the key to the door surprisingly quick and, casting a last glance at Jiyong, slipped into the next room, closing the door behind him.

Jiyong sank to the ground.

He heard Jiho's steps fading , then the door to the stairs outside being opened and closed again.

Jiyong started to cry, every sob sending pain through his body.

 

 


	10. GD

As soon as Jiho had left, Jiyong was sure he would somehow die today.

Jiho wouldn't make it back in time. How long would it take the other kidnappers to show up, looking for their hostages and their missing member?

Jiyong couldn't stop the tears streaming down his face as fear was crushing his chest. He tried to breathe calmly but kept wondering whether he should have tried and go with Jiho. He had declined Jiho's offer to hide outside because he felt like his presence could slow the kidnappers down, calm them, cosy them along... and he was sure that saying goodbye to Jiho would've been even harder if they had taken the step of seeing daylight again together.

He sighed. How much time had passed since Jiho's departure? An hour, at most. Maybe - he had lost the ability to track time accurately in the last few days.

When he heard the kidnapper two rooms over suddenly starting to yell and bang his door, Jiyong flinched and started wishing he would already be dead when they would come for him.

And they would, sooner or later.

Jiyong reached for the doorhandle, somehow associating it with Jiho and found the door still open. He pondered, weighing his options, then he pulled himself to his feet and limped into the next room. It was just an empty hallway between him and the door that led outside. He realized he still clutched to Zico's scarf. Probably, he would need both hands soon. He coiled it around his neck, as he didn't want to leave it behind.

The kidnapper started throwing a rampage over there, so Jiyong closed the door behind him. He stopped crying as his brain tried to work something out.

It was too early for dinner. Yet, a kidnapper had appeared, unarmed and alone, so he hadn't come to threaten them again or to make a new video of them.

 _Maybe he c_ _a_ _me to announce something to_ _us_ _?_

“Handover”, crossed Jiyong's mind immediately. His heart leapt in his chest as he realized that if he had just guessed correct, everything was about to go wrong because Jiho had escaped. The kidnappers wouldn't be able to do the handover for Jiho, and they could easily guess if Jiho had escaped, the police would soon be here. Jiyong doubted they would still try to handover only him.

“They'll leave. And they'll either kill me or take me with them.”, Jiyong whispered and limped to the door that led outside, praying that Jiho had left it unlocked as well.

He was lucky. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, he blinked into the sun and greedily took a deep breath. It felt good to be outside again. He had no time to loose, though.

When he dragged himself upstairs, he cursed himself for not going with Jiho who could've helped him. He had to pause halfway up and struggled for air. Although he cringed in pain that was emanating from his ribcage and had to lean heavily against the handrail, he was determined of his plan to hide somewhere in the factory premises. Before it had seemed senseless to him. But now...

He went on, even though he now had to halfway jump up the stairs on one foot, halfway drag himself upwards along the handrail.

If the kidnappers would flee before the police arrived, they could either leave without Jiyong – what would be very much to his liking – or they could decide to take him with them. Then they would have to search the whole premises for Jiyong, buying time for Jiho and the police.

_Fuck them. If they want me, they'll first have to find me._

He hesitated briefly when he finally reached the top to catch his breath again, then turned to the left towards several small storehouses, some old containers and a huge tank. Yet undecided where to hide, he desperately scanned the locations. Climbing wasn't possible, so he dismissed the tank and the containers.

In front of one of the storehouses was a trapdoor, probably leading to its cellar. He knew he wasn't in the condition of strolling around the location for ever. He had to find a safe hiding place as soon as possible. Even though he hated the idea of going underground again, he knelt down and tried to open the hatch. It was closed. He got up with a moan, not _that_ disappointed, and froze on the spot, suddenly scared someone could've followed him. He glanced over his shoulder, verifying he was only being paranoid, then limped towards the large steel doors hanging open. The hinges were rusted and darkness greeted Jiyong when he entered. His heart cramped in his chest as he walked deeper into the dusty room. The windows, opaque with dirt, looked like dead eyes to him.

Tools were scattered on the ground and he almost ran into an anvil which suddenly popped up behind a broken shelf. He thought of Jiho and how angsty he had become in this single-cell. Now Jiyong could very much relate, as he found himself about to panic – the darkness, his injuries handicapping him, the scattered stuff that obscured his way, as well as the possibility to have the gangsters on his heels every second really strained his nerves. He would not be able to run away.

He shuddered and looked for anyplace to hide.

In the farthest corner was a bulky, cylindrical machine. Jiyong limped towards it, he guessed it could be a furnace. His breath was stinging painfully in his chest now and he decided that maybe indeed a rib was broken. A barrow without a tyre was propped against the wall next to the furnace, and as Jiyong didn't feel like he would be able to walk any further, he approached it and carefully moved it. He flinched as it made a scratching sound on the floor. Dirty cobwebs hung behind it, a huge spider scampered away as it felt its home moving.

Jiyong shuddered.

No. Just no.

He was about to prop the barrow back against the wall when he heard them: They were seemingly leaving the main building he had just escaped, cursing, yelling and fighting amongst each other.

His heart stopped for a second and he froze on the spot.

Then, as he heard them starting to run around the premises, he lifted the barrow with newly found strength, carried it away from the cobwebs and covered between it and the wall, pulling the tool as silently as possible close to him.

Maybe they wouldn't search for him at all. Maybe they'd just leave. Maybe the police would arrive soon.

He cowered there, waiting, almost ceased to breathe, eyes closed shut and tried to hear where they were. Someone passed outside the window above his head to the right.

“He has to be here! He can't run, I'm tellin' you! Made sure of it myself!”

Jiyong flinched when he heard the voice shouting out angrily to its companions.

Oh, how well he remembered that voice and that tone.

“Yeah, and that Zico-asshole couldn't have carried him. That bastard only tries to play hide n' seek with us.” That was the slender guy Jiho had knocked out.

A rough laughter. “But that Zico is stronger than you, dear nephew.”

The guy that had seized Jiyong in his dressing room back then. It seemed like an eternity ago. That kidnapper had left Jiyong at the mercy of his crazy, knife-wielding brother.

“Now make sure you find him, idiots!”

The voices faded as the men walked by, Jiyong didn't understand the aggressive answer of the smaller guy anymore.

_Yeah, go off into another direction, please. I'm not even here._

His relief was only for a short while, as the reassuring silence, telling him he was alone and therefore safe, seemed to get thicker and started disturbing him. Having his knees pulled up to his chest sent a burning pain through his body with every breath he took. But he didn't dare moving, so he breathed as shallowly as possible.

It was silent for several minutes.

Then someone entered the room.

“You want to play, ha?”

Jiyong almost choked on his own breath and felt panic raise inside him.

“When I find you, this will be the last game you played for a long time, I promise. But I might change my mind if you come out right _now_.”

It wasn't the crazy father of the two younger guys with his knife, but his brother.

Jiyong wondered why it always had to be the uncle to find him in places Jiyong couldn't escape from. Was it fate or some bullshit like that?

The man strolled across the room.

“I can see you right there! Come out, don't make me walk over to you!”

Jiyong felt his heartbeat race in his head. He couldn't breathe and felt like he would faint any second. He was sure the man couldn't know he was hiding in here. And it was impossible to see him unless the barrow was removed. The kidnapper said these words in every room he searched, to lure him out, for sure.

But the words worked, nevertheless. Jiyong heard his own blood rushing through his head so loud he almost couldn't hear he kidnapper's steps over the noise.

He heard the man toss against the shelf and thought of Jiho, wished for the younger to be with him right now. This situation could not be beard by a single human!

The steps were drawing closer and stopped in front of the barrow.

“Oh, I see. Clever, but not clever enough.”, the voice was soft, dripping with malice.

Jiyong wished to be dead.

Then, with a terrible screeching sound, the barrow was pulled aside and Jiyong squeezed his eyes shut. He felt fingers dig into his hair and jerkily got tugged to his feet. He groaned loudly in pain.

“Sooo, it's me and you again.”

Jiyong opened one eye. He hadn't seen any of their faces until now. They had taken off their masks, apparently they didn't care about their anonymity anymore. Jiyong knew this could be a death sentence to him.

“So sorry for what happened to your friend... You know, we caught him a few minutes ago a mile to the south, trying to run away. Took a bullet to the head.”

The man put two fingers to his head and made a gesture like shooting himself.

Jiyong stopped breathing for a second. But the guy was lying, for sure.

“It's a shame we won't get his ransom now. But better than risking anything, you know?”

The man dragged him towards the door, shaking his hand violently, making Jiyong's head jerk around. Jiyong grabbed the man's wrist, trying to stop him, but to no avail. He stumbled along, stifling his whimpers and blinded by tears. He felt dizzy and disoriented, pain and fear for Jiho were numbing his thoughts.

They hadn't shot Jiho, had they?

“Don't cry too much over him, however.”, the kidnapper said. “Better cry for yourself. Messing with us was the wrong decision...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this story. I'm really glad there a people who like it, even though Zico and GD are a very rare combination for a fanfiction^^


	11. Zico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long, I was busy this weekend so I couldn't upload^^'

He could hear his blood rushing in his ears as he ran, always staying close to the buildings, away from windows that weren't blocked. As far away as possible from the building he had just left.

He glanced back every few metres, afraid someone could've noticed him already and be after him.

In the meantime, another part of him was going crazy with excitement about seeing the sky and breathing the fresh afternoon air. Running and being free again filled him with energy.

The factory wasn't as big as Jiho had feared, but the bedraggled state of the buildings and a ramshackled chimney that had collapsed in the way forced him to change his route a few times.

When he noisily stumbled over some rusty tools, with a start he immediately dove in between two small dens.

He didn't dare breathe for a few minutes, peeking outside and listening hard whether someone had noticed him. The whole time a giant clock was ticking inside his head, reminding him that he didn't have time to wait. He needed to run!

“Come on, just hurry up!”, he whispered to get himself going again.

The plant wasn't fenced in and soon Jiho reached the outskirts. When he had arrived here days ago, he had been sick, so he didn't remember where they had come from. The industrial facility was basically out in the nowhere, a completely neglected road leading up to it about half a kilometre to his right. Jiho decided to follow it with some distance.

He just started running parallel to it, going as fast as possible as he had noticed a grove ahead. He could reach it in maybe ten minutes, Jiho estimated. He hated how exposed and visible he probably was from the factory premises in his current position and tried to speed up, even though his ribs were already burning. The one-sided food had affected his stamina by now.

Gasping for air, he stumbled into the shadow of the trees and observed the road uneasily while he made his way through the scrub. When he left the grove again shortly after entering, there was nothing ahead where he would be able to take cover again.

_God, I hope all of them are back in their hideout and I won't run into them out here!_

 

Jiho was lucky, though: he reached a proper road after about a thirty minute jog and decided to stop the first car he'd see.

It was a truck transporting vegetables Jiho jumped in front of.

Before the driver could get out, Jiho had already run up to him.

“Call the police! This is an emergency!”

“Calm down, boy, what happened? There's no signal out here.”

“Then take me to the next police station!”, Jiho demanded. “It's really urgent!”

The driver stared at Jiho. He could see in the man's eyes he recognized him.

With a nod towards the passenger seat, the man beckoned him in.

When Jiho slid into the seat next to the man, he received a look full of sympathy, then the man opened both windows wide and drove off.

Halfway to the next village the mobile reception was back so they could send an emergency call while still on the road. The result was the police of the surrounding villages were already waiting for them when they arrived.

 

 

“Leave it, I'm fine!” Jiho pushed the doctor's hand holding a flashlight to shine into his eyes away.

He had explained everything to the inspector in charge. She had told him that this moment the handover of him an Jiyong actually was supposed to take place somewhere and a police force specialized on kidnapping wanted to try and free them without the kidnappers getting away. The fact that Jiho had escaped beforehand had messed up the plan. That they were on the countryside, far away from the supposed handover location, didn't make things better.

“We called for backup, but it'll take time until they arrive. The situation is complicated.”, the inspector explained. “Of course it's great you are here, alive and alright. But we have to change plans now. We are not a special-force, but ordinary patrol cops. Kwon Jiyong could be in great danger as the gangsters will have realized you're missing. Normally, they should be on their way to receive the ransom with both of you. And to get arrested, hopefully. But with you gone, I don't know whether they will actually show up for the handover and maybe try to fool the police about you, or whether they'll run as long as they still can. This could be the worse option for the other hostage.”

Jiho felt like shit. Not physically, but mentally.

It was clear now: The reason why the kidnapper had shown up alone in the cellar was that he had intended to fetch Jiyong and him. If Jiho hadn't run away, he would be with Jiyong right now, expecting their freedom.

Jiho's stomach twisted.

But who could've known that?

The doctor told him he would inject him vitamins to help his body regenerate.

Jiho neither really listened nor paid attention to the needle.

Probably, the rest of that gang had descended into the cellar a few minutes after Jiho's escape, missing their accomplice. They would've found him locked up and knocked out.

Jiho missing. Only Jiyong remaining.

Jiho pressed a hand to his mouth – he felt sick.

“Are you alright? Any pain?”, the doctor asked, but Jiho just shook his head.

If anything bad had happened to Ji, he would never forgive himself.

He realized the inspector and the other officers seemed to get ready to leave – they had put on bulletproof vests. As he looked out of the window of the small police station, he saw them splitting up on the five police cars they had.

Jiho jumped up. “What are you going to do now? What's the plan?”

“We are not specially trained for kidnapping situations, but we are going to check out the old factory. This is an emergency. Maybe they're still there, if not, we still can collect evidence.”

“I want to come, too”, Jiho demanded. “I want to see Jiyong!”

She hesitated.

“I can't promise he'll still be there, you know? You were extremely quick in coming here and contacting us, as that truck came by, but...” Jiho hated her doubting expression.

“Okay, you'll lead us to where they locked you up in this factory plant. We can start investigating there.”

Jiho followed her outside. When he looked at the other policemen, the stern looks on their faces, he didn't believe that the inspector really expected to find the factory abandoned.

She seemed to have read his thoughts: “If it's their hideout, they'll either come back there if we assume they try the handover. Or they'll try to get away from it, wiping their traces. In any case,we need to be quick!”

“Have you heard anything from the team charged with our kidnapping?” Jiho stood stood next to her car. “What's happening at the handover place right now?”

“My colleagues said the kidnappers didn't contact them yet to decline or change the transfer setting or time. This could either be good or bad. They'll contact us as soon as they've got news.”

Feeling anxious, Jiho got into the police car and they drove off. When he looked into the driving mirror, he saw the rest of their small unit behind them.

 

By the time they reached the old factory, the unit at the handover place had called the inspector and informed her that the kidnappers had neither shown up, nor contacted them. They therefore assessed the handover as a fail. The backup was to catch up soon and the inspector got instructions for the case they might really stumble upon the kidnappers when they reached the factory.

When the police drove up to the yard where Jiho and Jiyong had been kicked out of the truck, the kidnappers were just about to leave.

In fact, the truck in which Jiho had been kidnapped in together with Jiyong was ready, two men visible behind the window pane. When they saw the police cars approaching, they started the ignition. Jiho felt his hackles raise. The truck was massive enough to crush their cars and everyone within them. He wondered what would happen now. They wouldn't do anything reckless, would they?

The inspector was cursing under her breath and the police slowly circled the truck.

All cars had almost come to a halt, when the kidnappers decided to try and break through. They revved up the engine. The inspector reacted quickly and gave order through her radio to stop the truck by shooting at the tyres.

She hadn't even finished her sentence yet when the truck gave a roaring sound and the kidnappers sped up right towards them. Jiho clinged onto his seat even though he knew it wouldn't save him if they were crashed. The inspector dropped her radio, floored the accelerator and drove backwards at full pelt. Jiho watched in horror the quickly approaching truck. The policemen in the other cars opened fire, the noise of gunshots and engines was ear-deafening. For a few seconds Jiho felt like the inspector would risk them being crushed by the truck, but then she spun the steering wheel, Jiho got knocked to the side and the truck rushed past them. Two seconds after that, there was a bursting sound and the truck swerved to the side, towards one of the storehouses. Its stoplights flashed, then the vehicle crashed into the wall of the storehouse.

“Got them!”, the inspector shouted.

The police rode up, formed a semicircle around the truck with the inspector only having to turn her car. Now the gangsters were trapped between the storehouse and the police. Their truck was pretty demolished and seemed unable to drive.

Jiho was relieved. It looked like it was over. When they got the kidnappers, he could look for Jiyong.

For a few moments, everything was silent. Everyone stared at the truck, observing whether the kidnappers in the truck would stir. They couldn't be unconscious, could they? The crash with the storehouse had not been that heavy.

Indeed, the men inside the truck recovered quickly. The doors to the shipping space swung open and the other two men appeared. Jiho recognized them as the two seniors of the group. One of them had grabbed Jiyong in a rear choke hold and put the gun to his head. Jiho immediately realized the delicate way his Hyung held his hands in front of his body. He had his eyes halfway closed and just leaned into his captor lethargically. Something inside Jiho cringed. What had they done to Jiyong yet again?

The other kidnapper pointed his gun randomly at the police cars, not sure where to shoot at.

Jiho held his breath.

“Keep your head down.”, the inspector ordered quietly, but Jiho could hear that she was only trying to sound calm.

Jiho was sure if she stared at the windscreen more intently, it would burst.

“Don't leave this car, under no circumstance!”

Jiho swallowed and nodded.

He saw the officers in the other cars observing the kidnappers.

The policemen had gotten their guns out as well, but no one made a move to get outside their car. The inspector stared outside and clinged to her radio, but didn't answer as one of the officers asked what to do now. It seemed like time had frozen outside, apart from Jiyong's faint struggles for air and to keep his balance on his hurt foot.

Jiho felt the urge to run up to him and help him.

“Wait for them to make the next move.”, the inspector said into her radio. “The hostage is too endangered right now.”

After another nerve-racking minute, everything suddenly happened at the same time: Like at a secret signal, all four kidnappers started firing without a warning.

Jiho saw the tyre of the police car next to theirs getting hit. The inspector next to him cursed, then Jiho felt their car getting hit by a bullet and he ducked behind the dashboard.

After that moment of shock, the police also took action. They were firing back, but only at the two kidnappers still inside the truck.

Jiho dared to glimpse over the dashboard and saw  one of the police cars catching fire,  the officers bolting out of it, taking cover behind the car next to theirs and an old tank close to the storehouse wall.

_They don't want to risk hitting Jiyong...,_ he realized.

The windscreen of the inspector's car made a terrible sound as it was hit by a bullet. Jiho and the inspector screamed, with the latter calming down much quicker. The missile was stuck right in the middle of the bulletproof glass and the fissures made it hard to see anything that was happening outside.

Jiho could guess that he wasn't the only one wishing for the backup to appear right now, as this situation now completely was over the heads of the foot patrol officers.

He tried to look for Jiyong and panicked for a second when he  spotted the kidnapper dragging  him slowly backwards and into the darkness inside  of t he storehouse.

“Shoot them, if necessary.”, the inspector ordered, opened her door and tried to get a better line of fire, let alone sight on her aim.

Before she even pulled the trigger, Jiho slid out of the car without further thinking, ducked to the wall of the storehouse and flit around the corner, out of reach of the bullets.

Jiyong was in danger.

Jiho had passed this storehouse when he had fled the factory earlier, he knew it was huge, but had several smaller entrances. He didn't care whether anyone noticed his leaving, all he could focus on now was helping Ji. When he ran towards the next doorway, he subconsciously noticed the sound of cars somewhere in the distance. Then he entered the dusty storehouse while the police and the other kidnappers were still busy outside.

 

 


	12. Zico & GD

[ZICO'S POV]

Jiho realized that the old storehouse was in fact an old production hall the moment he entered. Huge dusty tanks lined up alongside the walls. They were connected by conveyor belts. He slid behind a tank when he heard the man approaching from the right. Jiho glimpsed around an old-fashioned console which was attached to the tank.

The kidnapper still dragged Jiyong along, muttering under his breath, but too silently for Jiho to understand. Was he whispering to himself or threatening Jiyong? Jiho couldn't tell, but it made him worry more for Jiyong. If the guy was crazy, he was an immanent threat.

Jiho let them pass by, then followed, crouching behind the conveyors. He payed attention to stay close behind the kidnapper. He was racking his brains over what to do now – he was less than five metres away from Jiyong and the guy with the gun. But that was still too far to try to disarm him. Let alone Jiho had no idea how to disarm someone with a gun.

_Too dangerous..._

Anxiously, he followed as quiet as possible alongside the kidnapper, when the guy suddenly stopped. They were about halfway through the hall.

“Stop, don't move, police!”

Jiho realized that someone must have entered the hall from the entrance on the backside.

The big dirty windows opposite to the tanks Jiho was hiding behind let enough light pass through to see the kidnapper's desperate, yet crazy facial expression. Jiho heard faint steps from the other end of the hall.

“Don't come near or I shoot him right away!”, the kidnapper yelled and firmly pressed the barrel to Jiyong's head. Jiho could see terror in Jiyong's eyes and felt his own heart leap. He knew the man was crazy and had nothing to loose. He would shoot Jiyong. There were police behind him and at least one officer in front of him – it was over, he couldn't escape anymore.

The man's hands were shaking, yet he didn't loosen his grip on Jiyong, who had closed his eyes. He was holding so still as if he had already given up and only waited for the kidnapper to pull the trigger.

“Just because of you!”, the man hissed at Jiyong. “You caused us enough trouble! I could be leaving the country right now!”

His fingers around the gun twitched.

“Stop!”, Jiho screamed, jumped up out of his cover and ran towards the two.

The kidnapper flinched, then spun towards Jiho.

Jiyong caught Jiho's eyes and stared at him in utter surprise.

The same moment, Jiho heard an ear deafening bang and felt tackled by something small. He lost his balance and tripped, Jiyong's eyes wide with terror were the last thing he saw before the world turned over.

Then he hit the ground, only a few steps away from the kidnapper and Jiyong.

Surprisingly, it didn't hurt very much. Jiho rolled onto his back and pressed his hands on his stomach where the small thing had tackled him.

Another shot.

Jiho knew it was in the storehouse, right next to him, but it sounded strangely far away. Maybe the police...?

He lift his hands. They were dripping with blood.

“Fuck.”, he said.

Then Jiyong was at his side.

 

[GD'S POV]

 

Jiyong squeezed his eyes shut when he realized the man would shoot him on the spot for whatever desperate reason. When he heard Jiho's voice, he turned his head. Seeing the younger run towards him sent a lot of different emotions through his body within the blink of an eye:

Relief to see Jiho alive, now knowing for sure the kidnappers had lied before.

Joy and hope because Jiho had kept his promise - he was here, and the police was also and now he bought Jiyong precious seconds.

Shock to see Jiho in a dangerous situation like this and fear because Jiyong knew the mad kidnapper wouldn't stop and stare.

He was right.

The man immediately rose the gun and before Jiyong could do anything more than look at Jiho in horror, he shot.

The bullet hit Jiho in the stomach.

Without thinking, Jiyong jumped up, his body moving on his own and he rushed over to Jiho.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the officer who had appeared at the end of the hall, he heard a distant shout and another shot, the kidnapper crying out and something dropping to the floor. But all of this was secondary now.

Jiho had his hands covered in blood from the wound in his stomach. The blood quickly soaked through his clothes.

"Hey, Zico, hold on, okay?"

Jiyong pulled the scarf from his neck as good as he could with his broken hands. He cursed to relieve the pain from moving his hands and because he was annoyed about being so slow. He dropped the cloth onto Jiho's wound and tried to stop the bleeding by pressing in the wound with an elbow. His hands were rather useless. When he saw Jiho's face twist in pain he hesitated, but he knew the younger would die if he didn't stop the blood flow. Jiho cried out and flinched, but didn't try to stop him.

"Hey, Ji." Jiho touched his wrist and smiled weakly. "It's okay, I only feel a bit dizzy. Let's wait for the ambulance, ok?"

Jiyong noticed the police officer kneeling down next to him, folding his uniform's sturdy jacket and shoving it under Jiho's back.

"I called an ambulance, though they'll need some time to get here. We need to stop the bleeding." When the man noticed Jiyong's hands were broken he took over with pressing on the wound.

Jiyong glanced over to the kidnapper. He was laying with his back to them, bound, without the gun and a small trace of blood next to him.

"Don't worry about that guy!" The officer said and Jiyong looked back at Jiho.

He felt Jiho's hand tugging on his sleeve and looked at him.

“They broke your hands, didn't they, Hyung?”

Jiyong nodded. “Don't talk, Zico, you'll worsen the bleeding.”

Suddenly the poor state of his own body seemed so unimportant, so banal.

Jiho gently grabbed his wrist and Jiyong delicately laid his other hand on top of the two hands.

“Bastards...” Jiho mumbled and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

The stench of metal stung in Jiyong's nose and when he looked at Jiho's blood soaked hands clinging to his arm, he felt sick.

Jiho seemed to get paler with every flat breath he took.

He looked back at Jiyong, fear in his eyes.

“Ji, I feel dizzy.”, he whispered and Jiyong hushed him by gently pulling away a strand of hair that sticked to Jiho's face. Jiyong shuddered and glimpsed at the officer next to him. The bloodflow seemed to have stopped. Still, there was so much blood on the floor... Jiyong was surprised he hadn't fainted yet. Probably the adrenaline that still rushed through his veins kept him from collapsing.

Jiho still clutched to Jiyong's wrist, fingers slowly growing colder and stared at him in pain.

Jiyong couldn't hold his gaze the whole time as the situation was too intense and he felt his eyes stinging with tears. The scarf was hopelessly soaked with blood and the officer continued pressing the wound with a new piece of cloth he got from wherever.

"Ji.", Jiho mumbled and made Jiyong look at him by shortly strengthening his grip around Jiyong's wrist. "You'll remember your promise?"

"Don't talk, Zico, please."

"My mom..." Jiho's breathing ceased and his eyelids fluttered.

Jiyong's heart skipped a beat. He soundly patted Jiho's cheek, close to panicking.

"Hey, Zico, stay awake! The doctors will be here soon!"

Block B's leader looked at him teary-eyed and pressed his wrist once more.

Then he closed his eyes.

“Hey, listen! Jiho! Don't fall asleep! Jiho! Idiot!”

Jiyong heard a siren in the distance.


	13. Epilogue

"Are you ok?“

He nodded.

“I'll wait outside again, alright?" Taeyang patted his shoulder. 

"Yeah, thank you."

A nurse was inside the room, just getting ready to leave when he entered.

“How's he doing?”, Jiyong asked her.

She shrugged and smiled sympathetically.

“His condition is stable.” 

She hesitated, Jiyong wasn't a relative so she briefly thought about what else she could tell him. “We still can't tell when he will wake up.” 

Jiyong closed his mouth again as that would have been his next question. The nurse apologized and left.

Everything inside the room looked exactly like the day before yesterday: Small and completely unadorned with nothing but the bed and the blinking machines in front of the window.

Jiyong closed the door carefully behind himself with a light kick. 

"Hi, Jiho, it's me."

Jiyong tried to visit as often as he could in between his own therapy sessions and the ongoing trial.

Jiho was breathing steadily under his mask.

Over a month had passed now since the doctors had saved Jiho's life. They said the coma came from the shock he suffered because of the bloodloss.  They couldn't tell Jiyong as much as Jiho's close relatives, but Jiyong hoped  with all his heart  that  the younger would finally recover and wake up again.

Jiyong sat next to Jiho's bed  on one of the two empty chairs. He avoided visiting when Jiho's family or his fellow band members were here.  Since the kidnapping, being around people was... awkward sometimes.

Jiyong reached over  and  carefully locked his fingers with Jiho's. It wasn't easy as only his fingertips stood out under the plaster he still had on both hands. The doctors said his fractures would heal, but Jiyong didn't care much as there were more things that required healing in his life at the moment. He couldn't focus on everything at once. 

He always took Jiho's hand when he visited. And like always, Jiho's fingers were a little cold. That way, he could connect with Jiho somehow and Jiyong believed that Jiho was aware of his visitors. The doctors said that comatose people partly realized what was happening around them.

For a few minutes, Jiyong just sat and looked alternately outside the tiny window and back at Jiho's calm face. Only a month had passed but the younger's hair had already gotten longer.

“I miss you, Jiho. Please come back, okay?” He sighed. “I need to get better myself, but the police and the attorneys are bustling... they want to start the trial as soon as possible.”

He closed his eyes and carefully stroked Jiho's fingers. “Could really need you support right now.”, he mumbled. 

The first times it had felt strange sitting here alone, talking to someone who would not answer. Now it made Jiyong feel at ease. Here he wasn't scared of being alone like was practically all the time everywhere else. Jiho's room was basically the only place where Jiyong didn't need to surround himself with people he trusted. Here it was only him, Jiho and the silence. Outside, Taeyang was waiting for him. Waiting for Jiyong to come out and to protect him from his fears again. To help him as good as he could. Jiyong was so grateful that he had such understanding friends and bandmembers who supported him.

“I'm still wondering if you're having nightmares, too.”, Jiyong said. “I hope you don't. But if you do when you wake up – let's talk about them, ok? My therapist says it would surely help to talk to each other about our... adventure.”

After some more moments of silence, he heard Taeyangs mobile outside the door. Or his own mobile, in fact. Taeyang kept it for him. Jiyong sighed and stood up. He had an appointment with his attorney in an hour.

He touched Jiho's forehead.  A part of him shortly wished to switch places with the younger. Jiho seemed so far away from the stressful times by day and horrible dreams at night.

“I haven't forgotten, Zico, we're still going to karaoke when you're back. When we're both a bit better.”

His fingertips brushed over Jiho's temples, pushing a few strands away from his eyes, down to his cheek. Jiyong smiled weakly.

“I promise.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fanfiction :)  
> Let me know if you liked it^^


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